Seeking Permaculture
Farm Intern/Apprentice for 2015 season
Wellspring Forest Farm, Mecklenburg NY
To apply, please send a
cover letter and resume to: farmers AT wellspringforestfarm.com.
Questions can also be directed to this
address.
Elizabeth and Steve Gabriel, owners of Wellspring
Forest Farm, are seeking a part-time apprentice (15-20 hours/week)
from mid May – early September (exact dates are flexible) who is
enthusiastic about working with zone 1 and 2 gardens, plants and
animals. Though this person will learn about and help
with all farm and homestead systems, main responsibilities include
planting, maintenance, harvest and preservation of vegetables,
herbs, fruit trees and berries, as well as assisting with care and
management of
our sheep and duck flocks.
The ideal candidate has some vegetable gardening or
farming
experience, with at least a strong interest in permaculture. This
position will regularly some involvement with all of the happenings on
the farm that may include inoculating or harvesting
mushrooms, packaging and delivering duck eggs, processing and preserving
food
and medicine, health management of sheep or ducks, planting or pruning
trees,
etc. Person should be comfortable
following directions, working both with others and independently and
able to be
physically active and outside most of the day.
Wellspring Forest Farm is a developing permaculture
farm and
homestead. Our established farm systems include woodland grown shiitake
and
oyster mushrooms, ducks that rotationally graze pasture and woods and
produce
duck eggs, a herd of sheep, tree crops, maple syrup, swales and water
management and zone 1 and 2 vegetable and medicinal gardens. We also host and teach multiple classes and
workshops on the farm each year. We actively observe and develop our
farm and
this year plan to complete the construction of a greenhouse, develop a
co-grazing
plan for ducks and sheep as a method for parasite reduction, enhance our
zone 1
and 2 gardens and build a 2nd pond and swale.
2 Wellspring apprentices will share a small outdoor
kitchen,
hot outdoor shower, composting toilet, small shed for storage of minimal
personal items, and a weekly vegetable CSA-share from a local organic
farm. Apprentices must provide their own tent for
sleeping and take part in shared chores including composting properly;
feeding
animals and maintaining clean shared spaces.
In addition to learning a lot about integrated
systems on a
working permaculture farm and homestead, apprentices can attend classes
Wellspring offers for free (see: http://wellspringforestfarm.blogspot.com/p/water.html)
and will have access to the gardens for produce they can use.
Wellspring Forest Farm is located in Mecklenburg, NY, 12 miles from
Ithaca, 8
from Trumansburg and 12 miles from Watkins Glen. We share a driveway and
a
2-acre pond with 4 friendly neighbors. Apprentices will likely want to
have
their own car for personal transportation.
To apply, please send a cover letter and resume
to: farmers AT wellspringforestfarm.com.
Questions can also be directed to this
address.
Thanks,
Elizabeth and Steve Gabriel
