Cultiva Youth Project

The Cultiva Youth Project is a youth leadership program where youth ages 14-18 operate an urban organic farm, growing produce for the local community while developing leadership and job skills. In Boulder, the youth seed, tend, and harvest produce for Growing Gardens’ CSA program, which provides a weekly share of vegetables for community members. In Longmont, the food grown is distributed to the Longmont Community three ways; as donations through local partners, at no cost to participants of our on-farm programs, or it is sold at below market rates through our on-site farm stand.

Sustainable Farming

Leadership

Community Service

Job + Healthy Living Skills

“My four years at Cultiva have been priceless and the experiences I have had during my time here have helped me grow significantly as a person. I started Cultiva as a pretty shy 14 year old who knew nothing about eating healthy and hated being put into situations where I wasn’t around my close circle of friends. But, as time progressed I learned how to step up and take charge of not only the people I came in contact with but my own life as well.” – Mariah Wisner,  Cultiva Graduate

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Throughout the summer, the youth deepen connections with our community by engaging in volunteer projects, and by gleaning and donating produce to community members in need. This hands-on farm experience teaches youth the importance of caring for the earth while learning how to grow their own food, work in a professional environment, operate a small business and create positive change for the community, the environment, and themselves. Cultiva participants get hands-on experience with the goats during their chore shift work at the dairy. This enables them to not only interact with the animals but learn the basic skills required to humanely raise, and effectively utilize livestock on the farm.

Cultiva participants are empowered to make decisions about many aspects of the program. Youth are encouraged to participate in project administration, public relations, and community education, as well as garden work and community service projects.

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Program Goals

Metas Del Programa

Teen Volunteer Days!

¡Días de Voluntariado Adolescente!

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“The incredible thing about Cultiva, that I’ve just come to realize in the past couple of weeks, is how the program taught and teaches us to think and act and become leaders in our community. We aren’t given a workshop or a lecture, we are told to come up with the idea for change, then to figure out what needs to be done to change it. We make the phone call, we tell people about our program and what we are trying to do. And our mentors are our managers. They help us tremendously when we get stuck, don’t know what to do, have an idea fall through, or can’t quite make a phone call work. The fact of the matter is, we are being taught by first hand experience how to make big things happen. ” – Shauvan Coy, Cultiva Youth Leader