We are delighted to announce that we will be conducting our first full Climate Adaptation Fellowship program with Northeast vegetable/small fruit growers and agricultural advisors in 2021-2022. We hope you will join us!
Why participate?
Participants in the Climate Adaptation Fellows program will enhance their knowledge of climate change and green house gas mitigation, experiment with or evaluate adaptation management practices, and encourage other farmers to explore farm-specific climate change adaptation measures through this peer-to-peer curriculum.
Thirty Fellows will be selected to work in pairs to develop farm adaptation plans, as well as outreach projects such as newsletters, blog posts, fact sheets, or presentations. Some Fellows also will integrate information about climate change adaptation into new or ongoing outreach programming.
Fellows who are commercial or tribal farmers will be offered a stipend for outreach activities associated with the Fellowship. All participants will receive travel stipends to cover expenses associated with attending Fellowship workshops.
What is the time commitment or are there any contingencies?
This program is designed to include two in-person workshops (Feb-March 2021 and 2022). However, program organizers reserve the right to alter the format to allow for remote participation and appropriate social distancing should the need arise.
In addition to the workshops, participants will work in pairs to develop and act on a personalized climate risk assessment, adaptation plan, and climate change outreach activities.
Who should apply?
This program is designed for commercial farmers who grow vegetables and/or small fruit, and agricultural advisors who work with vegetable/small fruit farms. Fellows will complete the program in pairs (one farmer, one agricultural advisor). Interested parties can apply in pairs OR individually.
Farmers and agricultural advisors from the following states are eligible to apply: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, West Virginia, Maryland, Washington D.C.
What is the application deadline?
October 1, 2020
When will I be notified?
Successful applicants will be notified by November 20th, 2020.
Want more information?
An informational webinar was presented on July 14th, 2020. The webinar was presented by Dr. Rachel Schattman, University of Maine; Erin Lane, USDA Northeast Climate Hub; and Marjorie Kaplan, Rutgers University.
You can preview the application questions here.
How is this program made possible?
The National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, through the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program under subaward number ENE20-164-34268, with additional support from the USDA Northeast Climate Hub, the Rutgers Climate Change Institute, and the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station.