Rainshadow Farm: Organic Agriculture
Course Description: This interdisciplinary course on organic gardening at the Rainshadow Farm will give students one semester of the art and science of organic agriculture and local food production in Reno, the Truckee Meadows, Nevada, the West, and beyond. We will be learning how to begin and maintain a garden, prepare land for cultivation, about soil nutrients, composting, worms, plant biology, local food security, nutrition and personal health, and sustainable agriculture with an emphasis on participation in community gardens & agricultural projects. We will continue to develop projects for further hands-on inquiry including (but not limited to) winter greenhouse / hoophouse work, seed banking, growing herbs, worm farming, entrepreneurial ventures, art projects, spring season planting, etc. We will also begin to make plans to build a greenhouse on the roof of our new school building. We will work closely with community groups such as The River School & Interpretive Gardens, Reno Food Not Bombs, The Great Basin Community Food Coop, R.E.A.L. (Responsibility, Earth, Art, Learning), local community gardens and food markets.
