Elderberry Wisdom Farm celebrated the completion of its Fall 2023 Habitat Restoration Internship on Friday, December 1. Five interns completed their nine-week internship which was combined with academic horticulture training at Chemeketa Community College’s Agriculture Science Complex. It was the second internship for several interns who joined our Habitat Restoration Internship last summer. We raised our internship fees to $3,000 this summer which helped us attract five OSU and U of O graduates, including two with master’s degrees.
The internship provided the cohort with experiential service learning and diverse academic training. The habitat restoration classes and work activities also included soil biodiversity, regenerative agriculture, transitioning to organic, Native plant medicines, microenterprise development, and health and wellness resilience.
The interns have had opportunities for ongoing habitat restoration, native plant nursery development and microenterprise development training which we will continue to provide for the next few years. This culturally-tailored service is possible due to support from the increasing number of partners, including landowners, plus Institute for Applied Ecology, Marion Soil and Water Conservation District, North and South Santiam Watersheds, Dry Farm Institute, and other partners.
The celebration included a giveaway of medicine wheels made by Duane Medicine Crow, copies of Tribal Histories of the Willamette Valley written by David Lewis, PhD, and refreshments.
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