Job Creation

C N G F

In partnership with San Jose Evergreen Community College District – Workforce Institute, CNGF is developing seven resilient, ecologically-focused job tracks to equip rising professionals with the tools to solve the climate crisis.

Resilient Job Creation through Training

Each of these hands-on practicums will be taught by mentors who are experts in their fields, at a variety of sites, including the Environmental Lab for Sustainability and Ecological Education (ELSEE) at 76 Race St., Hester Farms at 1460 The Alameda, Freshness Farms at Coyote Creek, an 8-acre agritourism regenerative organic farm featuring restored riparian habitat, food forest and native edible plants, native gardens at selected San Jose underserved school districts.

Freshness Farms @ Coyote Creek: A Build 25 Initiative – Program and Features

Youth Core Members Volunteering at Hester Farm

Youth Core Members Volunteering at Hester Farm

Seven Job Tracks

1.  Ecological Land Management
2.  Playing with Intent: Nature Immersion and Food Pre-K Teachers
3.  TeachIN Nature: STEAM Education in the Outdoor Classroom Teachers for 6-14 years
4.  Regenerative Organic Agriculture (ROA)
5.  Culinary Arts for a Plant Based Diet
6.  Regional Ecologist
7.  Ecological Engineering Technician

Connecting Theory to Practice

CNGF can facilitate the transition to a resilient management and maintenance of land in which ecology and human needs are recognized as central to solving the climate crisis; producing zero carbon emissions, reducing maintenance, and improving user experience. 

Ecological Land Management

Who:  Contractors, park employees, and landscape professionals

Goal: Maintain native landscapes and protect local ecology

Topics:

  • Soil, water, and waste management
  • Year round stewardship practices
  • Native plant communities
  • Regenerative organic agriculture with native hedgerows

Field Study: Convert an existing lawn into an ecological garden, with the option of including a food producing component

Playing with Intent: Nature Immersion + Food in the Certified Outdoor Teaching Garden

Who:  Teachers and directors of preschool classes

Goal:  Teach nature immersion + food in a certified outdoor teaching garden

Topics:

  • ELSEE certified teaching garden creation and maintenance
  • Regional plant-based cooking and ecology
  • Indigenous storytelling
  • Art and movement
  • Nature immersion theories and practices
  • Regenerative gardening
  • 50 lessons that connect native plants and animals

Field Study:  Create elements of an ELSEE garden and teach using the Playing with intent model

Read more here.

TeachIN Nature

Who: 
K-12th grade teachers

Goal: 
Create and teach in outdoor STEAM educational certified gardens

Topics:

  • ELSEE teaching garden creation and maintenance
  • Regional plant-based cooking and ecology
  • Indigenous storytelling
  • STEAM education and Earth Heroes Badge Program
  • Regenerative agriculture

Field Study:  
Create elements of an ELSEE certified garden and update traditional STEAM assignments for an outdoor classroom

Read more here.

Regenerative Organic Agriculture

Who: 
Urban farmers, land managers, contractors, teachers

Goal: 
Create & manage an ROA training & research farm

Topics:
  • 40 technical components of ROA farms
  • Soil, water, and waste management
  • Native plant communities
  • Client management and community outreach
  • Stewardship practices and propagation

Field Study:  
Convert existing lawn to an ecological food garden

The Evolution of a Teaching Garden

First Church of Christ, Scientist on the Alameda in San Jose, California

Students Learning Ecological Land Management at the First Church of Christ, Scientist

Meet Dr. Sanhita Dahta

Dr. Datta is a math and science division faculty member at San Jose City College. She has been working for several years with California Native Garden Foundation: The Lab for Nature-Based Urban Living. In the video, she portrays how her Environmental Science curriculum overlaps with CNGF.