Education Programs

Community Farms Outreach runs several educational programs at Waltham Fields Community Farms.

Service-Learning Opportunities

Since its founding in 1995, Waltham Fields Community Farm has been used as a resource by local schools and other groups seeking an educational experience. Groups come to the farm for a half-day program where they help out with the farm duties. During the day groups learn informally about how food is grown and the merits of community service. Contact the volunteer coordinator, volunteer@communityfarms.org, to schedule a learning day for your group.

We also welcome individual students looking to fulfill community service hours. Please contact the volunteer coordinator, volunteer@communityfarms.org, to set up a volunteer schedule.

Children's Learning Garden Program

The Children's Learning Garden Program is a joint project with Cambridge Camping Association's Cambridge Adventure Day Camp. The program was set up to give inner-city youth the opportunity to learn about how food grows. During the summer youth ages 6-11 repeatedly visit the farm, where they learn about plants, weeds, insects, weather, and the farm environment in addition to nutrition and food choices. They participate in hands-on activities from picking potato bugs off of plants and planting peas and cover crops to discovering a worm bin and cooking up tasty farm meals.

Farmer Training

Community Farms Outreach is committed to training the next generation of sustainable farmers. Our Assistant Grower positions are advanced opportunities in farmer training for individuals with one or more seasons of farming experience, and attract many highly qualified applicants each season. Regular feedback sessions, ongoing in-the-row education, and intense practice with farm decision-making and personnel management, combined with daily practice of sustainable agriculture techniques, make these positions a good fit for people with a serious interest in farming.

Our Education and Agriculture Intern positions are 4-day, 13-week positions designed to provide opportunities for college students and others with little or no farming experience to get their feet wet with a busy organic farm during the height of the season. The Education Intern runs our Children’s Garden Program with support from farm staff and volunteers, while also spending at least one day a week in the farm fields. The Agriculture Intern is responsible for working with farm staff on all aspects of production and distribution. These stipended positions enable us to make our farm a learning environment for people who may go on to a full-time internship or may simply become well-educated consumers and farming advocates.