School-year hours: Tuesdays and Fridays, 4-6 p.m.
Summer hours: Mondays-Fridays, 10 a.m. -4 p.m.
The Raíces de Cambio program is an apprenticeship program teaching high school-age youth gardening, farming, food justice, and the cultural impacts of urban green spaces. The program aims to prepare young people for entry-level positions in horticulture or agriculture and teach them about Puerto Rican history and indigenous Taíno gardening practices. Raíces de Cambio apprentices are paid hourly, and spaces for this unique opportunity are limited.
Raíces de Cambio utilizes a multidisciplinary approach toward youth leadership, development, and power.
While practicing agriculture in urban systems, youth learn about the interactions between plants, animals, humans, and the environment as they are tied to the critical role of culture in food production and the importance of food justice. They also grow more confident in their public-speaking skills as they lead garden tours, present workshops to their peers, or interact with customers at the Farm Stand.
Youth within the community are encouraged to apply through a selection process whereby they are asked to submit their résumés and are called for an interview. Selected youth train in the program for two or more consecutive semesters, after which they may begin to help facilitate training.
Youth typically participate in food justice, gardening, and healthy eating lessons. They also go out into Norris Square Neighborhood Project’s six Latinx culturally-themed gardens to plant, tend to, and harvest foods and herbs.
Apprentices learn, discover, and create ideas and projects related to agroecological design, leadership, and culture. The crew is also responsible for creating weekly lesson plans for NSNP’s Semillas del Futuro (Seeds of the Future) students during Garden Explorations sessions.
