Nearly a third of Virginia is farmland. But farms don’t always have to be in the countryside, they can on rooftops in cities and in small neighborhood gardens. One group in Richmond is training the next generation of URBAN farmers.
“We also have local honest harvested from hives on our farm locations in Church Hill and Manchester.”
Jason Tsai is selling produce grown in Richmond, to people in Richmond. He’s working a farm stand in the middle of VCU’s medical complex downtown.
“And this is a gorgeous magenta lettuce, it’s a variety we’re very proud of.”
Tsai has learned how to do this -- from farming in the city, to running a small business -- as an urban agriculture fellow with Tricycle Gardens.
“We get to play with dirt and talk with baby plants. Naw, I’m just kidding. It’s really a hands on experience, it’s a hands on experience it’s a practical knowledge. It’s really different than when I was going back to school.”
But now it’s about to get a little bit MORE like school. Next year’s fellows will walk away not just with the knowledge, but with a federally-backed certificate to prove it.
“And so it’ll be a formalized learning program held within the fellowship that gives them the experience doing what they are learning in the classroom.”
Beth Nelson is in charge of the new program. It’s the first of its kind in the country, with a stamp of approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
