Mandatory Qualifications
Interns must be 16 years old by June 10th, 2025. River City High School students must have completed at least one course in one of WUSD’s Career Technical Education Pathways. View qualifying courses here. Yolo High School and Washington Middle College students must have a recommendation form filled out by a teacher or counselor. All participants must have also participated in or watched a recording of an online informational session about the internships offered by the Home Run team.
Responsibilities
As a Farm Hand at Three Sisters Gardens, you will play a crucial role in supporting the day-to-day operations of our urban farms and community gardens. You will assist the Farm Manager and Assistant Farm Manager in various farm tasks, including planting, weeding, harvesting, and maintenance. This position offers an opportunity to gain hands-on experience in sustainable agriculture and contribute to positive community impact.
Key Responsibilities:
Assist with planting, cultivating, and harvesting a variety of crops using organic and sustainable farming methods.
Participate in soil preparation, composting, irrigation, and pest management activities to maintain healthy growing environments.
Help maintain farm infrastructure, including irrigation systems, tools, and equipment, through routine maintenance and repairs.
Weed, mulch, and perform other tasks to ensure weed control and soil conservation in farm fields and garden beds.
Assist with packing, labeling, and preparing farm products for sale, CSA pickups, and other distribution channels.
Follow safety protocols and guidelines to ensure a safe working environment for yourself and others on the farm.
Collaborate with farm staff, volunteers, and community members to accomplish farm goals and complete tasks efficiently.
Participate in farm-related educational programs, workshops, and outreach events to engage with the community.
Perform other duties as assigned by the Farm Manager or Assistant Farm Manager.
About the Business
Founded in 2018, Three Sisters Gardens (TSG) is a 501(c)(3) organization with a mission to uplift the Broderick community by inspiring and empowering youth, providing transformative education, and cultivating food sovereignty. This mission is based on our ancestral Indigenous ideologies of honoring our relationship to one another, the land, and our collective healing and power. We know that the sovereign act of growing ancestral and other foods, sharing with and supporting our most marginalized people, and developing healthy, meaningful connections with land can enable youth to find power in themselves. This power is further actualized by providing them with a fair wage and employable skills while also fostering acts of healing and remembering their own relationship to the land. Additionally, we acknowledge that TSG does not operate on its ancestral land and that it is essential to work in solidarity with and connect with the original people of the land to truly achieve a sovereign space and foodway. TSG promotes health and autonomy through youth internships, community workshops, and demonstration agroecological gardens.
Preferred Abilities
We're looking for interns who are:
- Dedicated to helping their community
- Interested in learning new things
- Team players & leaders
- Motivated to do the work
Learning outcomes
Interns will understand why and how we use climate-smart agriculture practices.
Interns will learn the process of growing food from seed through harvest.
Interns will understand their local food system.
Sustainable practices, farm tasks, farm management, and crop planning.
Special Project
Community Giving Program - learn how to grow organic food from seeds through harvest and give back to the community.
Additional Information
You will primarily work outdoors in the elements. We make adjustments as needed on extreme heat days and do the bulk of the work in the morning before it gets too hot out. This internship requires you to be able to sit and stand easily and occasionally lift buckets and equipment.
Since we work outdoors and in the elements, we require that you wear sturdy closed-toe shoes.