Internships
Have you ever wanted to learn more about resilient agriculture? This is your chance! Join our Community Garden Intern program! Internships are collaboratively developed between you and our program to be mutually beneficial.
Internships allow individuals to cultivate experience with growing food and supporting food security efforts. Interns will gain experience with growing annual and perennial foods using resilient agriculture techniques, teaching in non-traditional settings, leading volunteer groups, and organizing community-based efforts. A person in this position can expect to learn how gardening connects to nutrition, health, and food security. Interns may develop a special project to enhance the community garden and surrounding park, or expand programming.
At the Dr. John Wilson Community Garden food is grown by private renters, and for donation to Bounty and Soul (a non-profit partner who shares produce and wellness programming with local people without charge). This garden uses organic methods, practices double-digging, and incorporates biodynamic, resilient agriculture and permaculture principles. With over 100 fruit and nut trees, a native plant trail, rainwater catchment, and special projects abounding, this garden is a great place to learn just about any gardening practice you can imagine.
Contact Us
Physical Address
99 White Pine Dr,
Black Mountain, NC 28711
Emergency: 911
Email: lucille.nelson@tobm.org
Documents
Katie Miller: 2020 Intern
What brought you to the community garden?
My family and I moved here from Vale in 2019. I applied for the internship last year looking to get connected to the community here through the community garden.Did you have prior gardening experience?
I had been involved in community gardens through churches previously and knew that it was something I loved. I ended up gaining so much knowledge and confidence I now have gardens surrounding my home!
How did your internship in the community garden improve your gardening ability today?
It was a combination of having so many hours of practical hands on application, and also having such a strong teaching figure in Diana. These were both incredibly beneficial. I learned so much, especially about soil health and the foundation that it is for a healthy garden.
What was your first experience in the garden?
One of my first experiences was Diana teaching me how to build a compost pile! I had been unaware of all the necessary steps to building a successful compost pile in my previous gardening experience. Having to dig down and loosen the soil for good aeration and drainage, and needing to cover the plant material with soil layers, these were new concepts for me. I still remember Diana telling me that a handful of soil had more microorganisms in it that all the people living on earth, and that these microorganisms were essential for the health of the compost we were creating.
Was your internship what you expected it to be?
I didn’t have any real expectations, but I definitely learned so much from Diana about how to teach and lead people well.
Is there another significant memory you would like to share?
I remember spending one morning clearing ground for new garden beds on a hill at the garden. I was working with some other ladies and it was such hard, hot work! When we were finally finished though, the satisfaction of seeing what we had been able to accomplish by working together was incredible. I still remember how physically challenging that work was, and also how affirming it had been at the end of the task to know that we had completed something so hard together.
How did your internship impact your children?
I learned how to use a grape hoe to clear groundcover while at the community garden, and then worked with my son to clear our backyard to plant the garden we have today. It was a wonderful experience to share with my son and he in turn became very passionate about gardening as a result of this project. He has actually started propagating plants on his own recently, learning how to save seeds and taking plant cuttings!
Do you think having been a part of a community garden has changed the way you source your own food today?
I, and by extension my family, was exposed to some new vegetables during my internship. I learned how to prepare fennel and made coleslaw with kohlrobi. I also first learned about Bounty and Soul while interning at the garden. My family now regularly participates in their free produce markets and I have been able to enjoy receiving back food I have helped to grow. I am very proud that the garden partners with such a wonderful organization that prioritizes healthy food distribution and education in the community.
How would you summarize your internship experience?
Having my internship experience during the Covid quarantine last year ended up being incredibly important for my mental health. It was the only place I had available in which to socialize and feel normal. It was so vital for me to be able to physically work and get my hands dirty, while also being able to interact with other people sharing the same lockdown experience I was having. It was also powerful to be in the garden during that time as I was able to be a part of the overwhelming volunteer presence from the community that came faithfully during the lockdown. We all needed each other and wanted to be of service, the garden was a much needed place of normalcy for us all.
Liz Sutter: 2016-17 Intern
What brought you to the community garden?
I had been interning at a farm in Old Fort as part of my agriculture degree requirement from UNC. The farming staff there was very educational but not very kind and I was looking for a different intern experience when I learned about the Dr. John Wilson Community Garden internship. At the time the internship was unpaid, but Diana let me have a small garden plot in exchange for my internship. That garden plot was wonderful for me as I had been slowing transitioning to sourcing all of my produce locally and I was able to grow so much food all year in that small bed, plus have so much food shared with me from other gardeners. I was able to experience the garden as both a private gardener and also an intern.
How was the intern experience different from the farm internship you had come from?
The community garden had a wonderful feeling of ease, and was not an environment driven by a need for profit. A major part of that atmosphere was Diana’s role as such an amazing, gifted teacher. I was only there for six months but learned so much about transitioning a garden through the seasons and how to keep food growing year round. The community garden had the perfect combination of community time, soil time and educational time. My intern experience there served as the ideal goal for my future internship
Did you know anything about gardening?
I did flower gardening with my mom when I was a child. Even then I had an intuitive desire to own a property and grow beautiful things. What was your first memorable experience at the garden? Compost! Compost! Compost! I learned so much about tractor-less composting at the garden. Building a compost pile was one of the first tasks Diana gave me to work on.
Do you have a memory or moment from your internship that is still significant to you?
I remember one morning in January I was checking on the garden for Diana. It was a beautiful sunny, cold, crisp morning and I was opening up a bed of kale so that it could have some sun. I pulled off the plastic covering for the bed and was overwhelmed by the bounty of the kale that was there. In the dead of winter, here was such an abundance of food, just waiting to be harvested. It was my first experience of realizing just how much food it was possible to grow in the middle of winter, and that this was possible because of community, soil time and education. One of my biggest take aways from my time at the garden was leaning that you can have constant food through all seasons and not be limited by the weather. I actually upset my roommates by having too much food in our refrigerator through that winter!
Was your internship what you expected it to be?
No, but in a good way. I was very hopeful that it would be better than my previous internship, but was not expecting to to be a complete 180 change to the way I had been previously shown food should be grown.
Do you remember a teaching moment from Diana, or another gardener that continues to affect the way you view gardening?
Regular agriculture practices teach you to pull all weeds. I remember there being a weedy bed in the garden that continually bothered me, I wanted to pull all the weeds so badly! Instead Diana gave me a knife and told me I could cut the tops but not pull them. I learned from her that preserving soil integrity is more important than cosmetic appearance, and that weeds are not necessarily an enemy. I also learned how important it is to know when to weed. Not when it is really wet, not when weeds have gone to seed, and also when it is best to pull a weed and when to cut it.
Did your internship lead to you in any way to where you are now?
Absolutely! I am now a farmer and I use lot of the principles and practices from my short6month internship on the farm I work on as well as in my personal garden. The community garden planted a lot of seeds which I have been able to cultivate since leaving. I began to learn a lot of things there and have continued intentionally building on that knowledge since leaving five years ago. I still build my compost piles today the same way Diana taught me. My internship education there still impacts me almost every day in my personal garden. My experience there also is shaping the vision of the community garden space I would one daylike to offer my own community.
Has your definition of what a community garden changed from what you thought before your internship?
I definitely had several big take aways from my time in the community garden. I had more money before my internship, but I did not have community and I didn’t have knowledge. I realized that money is just another form of energy, another resource, and that knowledge and community should both be as equally valued and pursed as money is. I also learned how important it was to me to have “skin to soil time” in the garden, and how meaningful it was to really get my hands dirty. I was not ever a good test taker at school, but I was always gifted at presenting myself and my knowledge. After my time at the garden was finished I realized how much I felt the need to teach others after having been taught so well myself. My definition of what a community garden is maybe didn’t really change after my internship experience, but I absolutely extended my passion for sustainable living while there. Sowing that passion into my future community was definitely a major seed that was planted by my time in the garden.
Karen Scott: 2015 Intern
What brought you to the community garden?
I was introduced to the community garden in 2006. It was listed on the “Farm Tour” and was one of 3 gardens I saw that day (the other two were at Earth Haven). I was immediately impressed by the scope of what the garden was accomplishing, the beauty of the location, and the fact that Diana basically ran the whole thing – the rest was volunteer labor!
Did you know anything about gardening prior to your internship?
Yes! I was an avid gardener in Florida, mostly container gardening.
What interested you about interning at the garden?
I wanted to learn more about biodynamic gardening.
Do you have a memory or moment from your internship that is still significant to you?
Every moment down in the garden is special, and my memory of those 6 weeks is of just being grateful to spend time in such a beautiful spot!
Was your internship what you expected it to be?
My internship was great, but not entirely what I expected it to be. I expected to have a more structured experience, with specific teaching about biodynamic gardening. I felt more like part of the group who just did whatever needed to be doing that day.
How did your time in the garden affect your steps after your internship concluded?
Being a gardener, then an intern and part-time volunteer, led me to explore Bounty & Soul more. I now volunteer with their produce-sorting and also at the weekly Bi-Lo market. I also branched out and got a job with Food Connection for part of last year. That led me to get to know other community garden partners like Blue Ridge Assembly and Swannanoa Valley Christian Ministry.
Do you think having been a part of a community garden has changed the way you source your own food today?
Yes – I think I rely more and more on the produce that I grow myself, and I think of it more as a food source than a hobby.
Julia Michael
What brought you to the John Wilson Garden?
I am originally from Michigan and went to Warren Wilson College for my undergraduate degree. Part of my gradation requirement was completing a service project and I was put in touch with Diana at the garden to fulfill my service hours there. Ironically I had started my undergraduate in agriculture and then switched quickly to art studies, I then ended upback in agriculture for my service project!
Was this your first gardening experience?
I had grown up seeing my mom garden, but this was my first personal experience working with food, learning to use tools, and how to move my body. It was a very significant experience for me and helped to set me on the path that has brought me where I am right now.
Did you have a memorable harvesting experience from your time in the garden?
I remember when I first encountered nettles and thought they were such a bothersome weed. Diana was quick to remind me of the many and valuable uses of nettles. I ended up taking nettles home and making pesto and tea from them!
Were there any people you met in the garden that significantly impacted your internship?
I remember meeting and getting to work with someone named Craig Siska. He was such an amazing person with an indescribable source of knowledge about everything it seemed. He was a third generation student of Rudolph Steiner and such a natural teacher. He was always eager to share what his knowledge with you, whether it related to gardening or not!
Do you have any specific memories of being with him in the garden?
I remember sowing a cover crop with him one day. We had a lot of work to do and I was trying to work quickly. Craig had moved his truck close to the bed and was blaring Johnny Cash music from the radio. He then began speaking about having watched a documentary of Cash’s life and how much he meant to him as a musical figure. He became quite emotional and was almost crying!
Were you prepared for how philosophical and/or emotional people can become whilst gardening?
Totally. I was actually in the garden the morning Trump’s victory was announced. I remember Diana gathering everyone together in a circle and checking in with how people were feeling. I think that gardeners tend to be more connected and communicative with how they feel since we work so closely with the earth.
Where are you now?
I’m living in Portland, Maine and am working on a small independent CSA produce farm. I’m interested in pursuing a certification in permaculture design and hopefully one day owning my own farm.
What is it about permaculture that interests you?
The community garden in Black Mountain offered me a real connection to my social community, and in the same way I became aware of the environmental community necessary to a garden’s health and sustainability.
Where did you first learn about permaculture?
During my internship Diana advocated for me and the other intern to have the opportunity to attend the annual Grower’s Conference. It was a wonderful experience. I first learned about permaculture there, and was also amazed at recognizing so many people from my local community as attendees. I was amazed to realize I was surrounded by so many people who had shared interests with me!
How did your idea of what a community garden was change through the course of your internship?
My idea of community gardens really grew throughout the internship. Prior to my internship I thought of these gardens simply as spaces for community members to come and grow food. Quickly after starting though, I came to realize that these spaces really put emphasis on the community part of a community garden. Throughout my time there I realized that community gardens came to mean education, support, emotion, connection, communication, resilience and sustainability! I got to see first hand what community can really mean.