SUMMER LAND
IMMERSION INTENSIVE
20 NY-based BIPOC youth participate in in a 5-night, 6-day camping and stewardship intensive at Grandpa Farm, a small, family-run Latino farm.
Youth learn about organic farming, plant identification, nursery practices, pest management, practice safe tool use, and deepen their relationship to land and collective responsibility
Through thir prorgam, youth also complete 24 hours of curriculum from the Landscape Nursery Manager apprenticeship based on the New York State Department of Labor syllabus.
A TWO YEAR LEADERSHIP PATHWAY
Across two years, youth move from foundational learning into land-based practice and public
leadership, taking on increasing responsibility through facilitation and community engagement.
In Year One, youth build foundational knowledge in environmental justice, food systems, and
urban stewardship, while identifying local environmental harms, and
developing land-based responses.
In Year Two, youth deepen their technical skills and step into roles as urban architects and stewards
of green hubs, peer mentors, workshop facilitators, and youth leaders. After the completion the two
years, participants return as alumni, interns, and collaborators, continuing to shape future cohorts.
youth land labs in practice
ENVIRONMENTAL
JUSTICE EDUCATION
Youth engage with environmental and food justice through frameworks including the 17 Principles of Environmental Justice, Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, and the Black Space Manifesto,
urban agriculture + CULTURAL FOODWAYS
Youth design and cultivate garden beds, choosing crops native to the land they are working with and the cultural traditions and foods meaningful to their communities. In the Bronx, youth have chosen to grow crops such as cowpea, squash, spinach, pinto beans, and strawberries.
soil healing and ecological practice
Youth test soil for pollution and practice composting, remediation, and land-based care in alignment with Learning Standards for Career Development and Occupational Studies (CDOS). They also build relationships between land care, healing, and resilience.
community partnerships
Youth with our partners, Socrates Sculpture Park,
Grandpa Farms, Climate and Resilience EducationTask Force (CRETF) on projects and campaigns focused
on land access, and community-led development.
Land Stewardship Projects
Youth lead workshops, facilitate peer mentorship, and co-design and activate community green spaces, transforming underutilized land into hubs for learning, food production, and community gatherings.
CIVIC EDUCATION
and ACTION
Youth present their projects publicly. They also engage in civic education advocacy, including educating policymakers in Albany on climate education, environmental justice, and mental health.
learning and leadership
begins with the land
A two-year land stewardship and food justice pathway integrating environmental justice education,
urban agriculture, workforce development and youth organizing.
In neighborhoods shaped by environmental racism and food deserts, Youth Land Labs offerings critical skills in
cultivating food across hydroponic and soil-based mediums, rooted in permiculture principles that employ the
consultation of local Indigenous stewards, in order to bridge education with action.
