Internship Title: Homestead Food Production
Internship Site: Birch Hill Sugarworks, Jericho Center, VT
Description: Birch Hill Sugarworks Mission: The family homestead is a way of life and a continuing experiment in growing food, nurturing soil, conserving water and energy, and sustaining the local ecosystem. If we each learn about ourselves and our place in nature, our communities will be more resilient and better able to compensate for the vagaries of climate change. Combining individual strengths allows us to respond positively to a rapidly changing world.
Food production duties are tied closely with seasons and these are listed below as such:
Fall
- Mushrooms: maintain moisture content, monitor for flushes, harvest, dry and/or freeze
- Gardening: harvest crops, monitor for insect pests, organize compost materials, plant cover crops (rye, Austrian peas, etc.)
- Food preservation: egg storage in sodium silicate, root crops (root cellar), pickling, drying (on wood cookstove), canning,
- Fruit and nut trees: monitor for insect pests, harvest walnuts, apples, etc. Preserve by drying, making cider, “hard” cider, vinegar.
- Hoophouse (unheated greenhouse): plant cold-hardy crops for spring harvest
- Greenhouse (heated): move citrus trees and other frost sensitive plants inside
- Build horse manure/woodchip pile for heating
- Firewood: stack dry wood in woodsheds
- Mill lumber from any previously harvested logs
- Build/repair buildings
- Winterize all machinery
- Poultry—seasonal and daily care requirements for chickens, ducks, guinea fowl, turkeys
- Composting all waste—seasonal requirements
Spring
- Sugaring: wash tubing lines, clean evaporator and sugarhouse
- Mushrooms: inoculate logs and other medium (e. wood chips)
- Gardening: start plants at appropriate times (e. January/February start onions; March start peppers, tomatoes and eggplants, etc.)
- Fruit and nut trees: prune, apply dormant oil and use other organic pest control methods
- Hoophouse (unheated greenhouse): uncover mulched crops such as spinach, asparagus, chard, kale
- Greenhouse (heated): set up shelving and grow lights for plant starts
- Set up rainwater collection systems
- Invasive species control (barberry, buckthorn, multiflora rose)
- Harvest ramps (wild garlic), dandelion, etc.
- Poultry—seasonal and daily care requirements for chickens, ducks, guinea fowl, turkeys
- Composting all waste—seasonal requirements
Summer
- Mushrooms: maintain moisture content, monitor for flushes, harvest and preserve by drying (fabricate more drying racks as needed using cedar framing and stainless steel mesh)
- Gardening: work finished compost into garden beds, transplant plant starts and plant seeds at appropriate times, monitor for insect pests, apply foliar and soil nutrients, build or repair raised bed walls, apply mulch where needed, set up drip irrigation
- Fruit and nut trees: monitor for insect pests, apply foliar and soil nutrients
- Hoophouse (unheated greenhouse): transfer plant starts from greenhouse to hoophouse—harvest and preserve –dry and/or freeze as appropriate
- Greenhouse (heated): move citrus trees and other frost sensitive plants outdoors, set up solar food dryer for raspberries, tomatoes, blueberries, kale, etc. open vents for cooling
- Plant late crops (spinach, kale, lettuce, )
- Firewood: split, stack to dry
- Mill lumber for building projects
- Repair forest trails
- Build/repair buildings
- Poultry—seasonal and daily care requirements for chickens, ducks, guinea fowl, turkeys
- Composting all waste—seasonal requirements
Desired qualifications/skills/coursework: Qualifications: Successful candidate will understand the importance of local food production, have a desire to learn about plants, insects, and how food production activities can be accomplished with minimal impact on natural ecosystems. Some farm or gardening background would be especially helpful. Skills: The person will (1) enjoy physical labor in an outdoor setting (use of common garden tools, lifting, etc.), (2) have good observational skills (monitor plant performance, pest damage, distinguish beneficial from pest insect species, nutritional needs of plants, etc.), (3) be able to follow instructions.
Coursework: Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Science, some understanding or interest in Biochemistry, Plant physiology, Entomology, Ornithology would be a plus.
Supervision: Successful intern will work directly with site sponsors to fulfill requirements of their term of study.
Start and End Dates:
Spring: March-May
Summer: Mid-June to mid-August
Fall mid-September to mid-November
Estimated hours per week: Negotiable—dependent upon UVM requirements for credit and seasonal needs of site sponsors.
Compensation/Willingness to support students to earn credit:
How to apply: Please contact Ann Gnagey at Birch Hill Sugarworks Email: agnagey@vtc.edu , 413 Brown’s Trace, Jericho, VT 05465, or (802) 899-6736. If you are interested in earning credit for this experience, contact Anna.Smiles-Becker@uvm.edu, Rubenstein School Internship Coordinator