Event Details
Relay Education in partnership with Young Agrarians are excited to host an online course for those who are curious about farming.
How to Start Farming is an online community based program, delivered by Young Agrarians, that will give you the space to explore farming fundamentals, connect with the farming community, and learn ways to get involved with farming.
A four-week introductory course packed full of content and activities that guide you through the basics of farming. It brings people together who want to dip their toes into the world of growing food.
Course Dates: March 1-31, 2024.
Live Session Dates: March 6, 13, 20, 27.
This program is being offered as part of the Green Skills Academy, which is a program run by Relay Education. The Green Skills Academy offers career training in solar installation, sustainable agriculture, geographic information systems mapping, and wind energy operations.
How it works
- Free to participate
- Four week online course
- Each week includes pre-recorded videos, a discussion forum, and a 2-hour online session.
- Live Sessions are held on Wednesday evenings hosted by guest speakers in farming
- (6-8pm Pacific Time, 7-9pm Mountain Time,8-10 pm Central Time)
- Program Content is broken down into weekly modules for you to complete.
- 20 instructional videos
- 30 farming resources
- 8 hours of virtual support and instruction
- Be able to access course content after program finishes
Who the course is for
Priority will be given to individuals who are part of underserved and underrepresented communities, specifically Black, Indigenous, People of Colour, newcomers, Women and gender diverse individuals.
Participants must be:
- 15 years or older
- Canadian Citizen, Permanent Resident, or have Refugee Status
How to participate
The course requires the internet to be able to access e-course materials and attend live sessions (Zoom Meetings).
Click Here to Register
(You will be redirected to Young Agrarian’s Website to Register.)
Course Content
How to Start Farming will cover everything from overviews of different kinds of farming to basic soil health principles to preparing for your first farm visit. You’ll have the opportunity to:
- Be introduced to Indigenous food systems and relationship to the land (led by Nehiyaw/Métis Knowledge Keeper Audrey Logan, Treaty 1 Territory)
- Discover how to address climate change through farming methods
- Explore paths to get more involved in farming
- Meet farmers and peers who are passionate about local food
- Hear first-hand stories of the joys and challenges of growing food
Program Format
How to Start Farming is structured to facilitate peer-to-peer learning, which means it’s different from a standard online course. Each week participants are encouraged to watch a few short videos and answer a discussion question before attending the online, live session (via Zoom).
The videos cover the content of the topic for that week. Some videos will focus on the practical pieces of growing food while others will be a story of how a new farmer got involved in farming. Each week will have about 30 minutes of video content.
Each topic will also have a discussion question to complete. These discussion questions will help you reflect on the topic and to hear from others in the course. You can expect to spend 5–10 minutes on each discussion question.
During the live session, you can ask questions of the speakers and to connect with peers in small groups. These sessions are participatory and driven by your questions. Each session is 2 hours long and we have live transcription available during all our sessions.
How to Start Farming will run for four weeks with one topic per week. Live sessions happen once a week on Wednesday evenings at 6:00pm PT, 7:00pm MT, 8:00pm CT, 9:00pm ET, 10:00pm AT. The dates will be March 6, March 13, March 20, and March 27.
Register