Urban Agriculture program to debut at Edmonds CC for winter quarter

Will Allen and Zsofia Pasztor, Edmonds CC Horticulture instructor and president of Farmer Frog, tour the community garden during an event recognizing the college’s new Urban Agriculture program.

12/20/13

Edmonds College will launch its Urban Agriculture program with five classes this winter. The quarter runs Jan. 6-March 21.

Urban Agriculture classes include Agroecology, Soil and Plant Nutrition, Vegetable Production I, Fruit Production I, and Horticultural Careers.

Will Allen, one of the country’s most respected leaders in sustainable urban farming, recently visited Edmonds CC to tour the college’s student-run garden and learn about the new Urban Agriculture program, thanks to the efforts of Zsofia Pasztor, an Edmonds CC Horticulture instructor and owner of Farmer Frog. Allen is the founder and CEO of Growing Power, a Milwaukee-based organization that operates an in-city farm and provides outreach, demonstrations, technical assistance, and hands-on training.

“Urban Agriculture students will be using cutting-edge science and technology to learn and manage small-scale and urban agriculture,” said Pasztor, who graduated from Allen’s training program. Edmonds CC incorporates many of Allen’s methods into its own student farm, which Pasztor manages.

“What Edmonds College is doing here is so important. As I travel the country, I don’t see grade schools, high schools, or colleges doing this,” said Allen. “We need to help our students understand where they’re going to get their good food from. And the only way to do that is hands-on. Students need to learn how to grow their own food and develop the infrastructure for sustainable food systems.”

The new program is part of a Sustainable Agriculture Education (SAgE) Collaborative, which is funded by the National Science Foundation. The collaborative is led by Edmonds CC in partnership with Skagit Valley College, Seattle Central Community College, and Washington State University.

The goal is to increase the number of sustainable urban and small-farm agriculture technicians who have the education and training to meet current and projected workforce demand in Puget Sound and beyond.