The Education Garden is a half-acre production and demonstration garden devoted to giving Fort Lewis interns an introduction to small-scale sustainable farming. Established in 2006, the education garden has since added two high tunnels for summer pepper production and winter greens production. Inspired by biointensive farming techniques and worked mostly by hand, skills taught in the Education Garden are applicable to backyard gardens and small farms.
Every summer, the Education Garden offers an unpaid internship program from May through early August. Interns receive a well-rounded sampling of the work that goes in to small-scale agriculture, from helping with bed preparation and planting early in the season, to harvesting, weeding, and marketing into the summer.
Folks interested in receiving internship credit for work at the Old Fort should apply to the FIT program for the summer season. Email Elicia to inquire about internship availability in the spring or fall semesters.
The Old Fort can hire students with work study who have a demonstrated interest in sustainable farming. In the fall semester, hours are available from August through November; in the spring, students can work from February through April with all aspects of year-round vegetable production in the Education Garden.
We welcome volunteers who can make a regular commitment. If you invest at least 1 morning/week with us for the growing season, we’ll invest in your gardening skill set!
The Education Garden is the perfect place to give students a sense of small-scale agriculture, and to begin to raise questions about ecological farming, local economies, food systems, regenerative agriculture, sustainability, and more. We can give tours and provide opportunities for students and professors to get their hands dirty. The best months that overlap with the Fort Lewis school year are August, September, October, April, and May.
Interested in working with us or taking a class on a field trip? Email the Program Manager Elicia Whittlesey.