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Student Involvement

New Entry provides students a living laboratory to apply classroom knowledge and develop applicable skills. Responding to the interest of students, New Entry interns have done research, developed educational guides and training curriculum, created marketing for World PEAS Coop, provided technical assistance and identified land for potential farms.

Students work at the offices in Tufts University, at the Lowell office training facility, at the farmers market, at the CSA distribution point, or in the field. For New Entry, the outcomes of student efforts can be significant. For example:

Plain Language Guides – Interns have developed a series of agricultural Plain Language guides, which serve as education tools for both our low-literacy population, and other people who appreciate easy-to-understand instructions.

New Entry library- New Entry houses a library with over 345 books, CDs, and Videos related to Risk Management, Farm Safety, crop production, farm equipment, marketing, greenhouses, cover cropping and soil management. Interns assist to maintain the library and keep our records current, so that visitors can get the most out of this resource.

Direct Farmer Training — Interns assist with classroom training of beginning farmers by preparing content for and conducting training classes for the New Entry farmer training program. Each New Entry beginning farmer student benefits from the well-developed materials and a fresh perspective that the interns bring to classroom training.

Outreach — Interns develop marketing materials and disseminate the materials for promotion of the World PEAS Cooperative CSA. This work is a key component in the success of the CSA. In 2008, the CSA had 100 members. There are an additional 50 members on the waiting list for the 2009 season.

Selling through the CSA — Interns assist with World PEAS Cooperative CSA activity such as newsletter development and research, post-harvest handling, packing and distribution of shares.

Training Curriculum Manual — Interns are collecting extensive resources available for training of beginning farmers, and compiling a comprehensive training manual. This manual is forthcoming, and will be posted to the site when complete.

New Entry Website Development — One intern provided content for the For Foodies section of the New Entry website, by gathering recipes and photos for each crop which is grown by New Entry farmers.

New Entry Blog — One intern created the New Entry Blog. The blog includes current news, events, and issues related to New Entry and local and national agricultural issues.

Land Match Program — One intern communicates with landowners who are interested in leasing or selling their land to farmers so that the land can remain an agricultural resource. This intern tracks available land parcels for use by farmers searching for farmland through the New Entry Farmland program. The intern coordinates meetings and accompanies New Entry staff and farmers on land visits.

Employment Guide — One intern surveys owners of farm businesses who are looking for employees. The intern collects information regarding available job openings and posts updates annually to the New Entry Employment Guide.