VOLUNTEER
BE PART OF SOMETHING GREATER
“All change, even very large and powerful change, begins when a few people start talking with one another about something they care about,” said Margaret Wheatley, author, and systems thinker. The ways that people of like mind meet each other can seem utterly random—a chance meeting, an unexpected introduction—but really it is the law of attraction. Fox Haven is a nexus for these kinds of intersections. And the best way to build these relationships is when people work together toward some shared goal. When you volunteer or intern at Fox Haven, you are setting yourself up for this kind of magic to happen in your life.
MANY HANDS, LIGHT WORK
Fox Haven is a welcoming place, especially to those who come to give themselves to something greater. Come explore, learn, and make something great happen here.
Volunteers help throughout the year on projects like preparing the soil/garden beds, planting seedlings, harvesting, and processing fresh herbs, pruning/weeding garden beds, and helping with onsite fundraisers and events. Get in touch to volunteer.
“The way you live, the way you are, may help to awaken some slumbering soul, So always give of your very best self wherever you are, wherever you go. Allow yourself to be used to help your fellow humans, not by words but by the way you live.”
– Eileen Caddy
BECOME AN INTERN
Volunteers and Interns are a critical part of keeping our garden and orchard beautiful and productive. Our garden is tended by hand using hoes, rakes, shovels, and wheelbarrows and serves as a classroom as well as plant and animal habitat. We are seeking interns who are interested in becoming part of the seasonal dance we engage in, who are interested in learning from the plants and people here, and who are willing to give of their knowledge and skills.
We offer two 4-month internship sessions with 5 open positions per session. Interns work on the farm two to three days per week. Some days we will spend tending to the gardens, others we will be working in the dry room and apothecary. All work is essential to helping us run our Fresh Herb CSA for 60+ members and Dry Winter CSA in the off-season. Read below to understand the role our interns play at Fox Haven.
The Spring Internship runs from March 10th through July 21st
Things we’ll do in the field: harvest wild winter roots and spring plants and summer harvests, seed starting, hardening off, transplanting and record-keeping of plants, Spring garden prep, and summer garden feeding, orchard tending and pruning
Things we’ll do in the apothecary: Tea tasting to hone organoleptic skills, early spring foraging and recipe testing/building, Proper drying, garbling, record keeping, and storage of herbs
Field and Apothecary Days:
Field and Apothecary Days: Wednesday and Friday 9 am – 2 pm each week (shifting to 8 am-1 pm in the hot months of June and July or as the group decides we are ready)
A lunch break will be built into the day
Harvest and CSA Class Days:
Interns are present for all harvest days and choose one class location per month to attend
Harvest Days: May 5th, May 19th, June 2nd, June 16th, June 30th, July 14th
Frederick CSA Class: April 2nd, May 7th, June 4th, July 2nd
Baltimore CSA Class: April 29th, May 20th, June 17th, July 15th
DC CSA Class: April 30th, May 21st, June 18th, July 16th
We offer two 4-month internship sessions with 5 open positions per session. Interns work on the farm two to three days per week. Some days we will spend tending to the gardens, others will be working in the dry room and apothecary. All work is essential to helping us run our Fresh Herb CSA for 60+ members and Dry Winter CSA in the off-season. Please read below to understand the role our interns play at Fox Haven.
The Fall Internship runs from July 5th – November 10th
Things we’ll do in the field: Harvest flower, fruit, leaf, and root crops, learn Summer and Fall wild plants, practice seed keeping, engage in Winter garden prep and pruning
Things we’ll do in the apothecary: Tea tasting to hone organoleptic skills, Summer and Fall foraging and recipe testing/building, Proper drying, garbling, record keeping, and storage of herbs
Field and Apothecary Days: Wednesdays and Fridays July – September 8 am – 1 pm, October – November 9 am – 2 pm
A lunch break will be built into the day
Harvest and CSA Class Days:
Interns are present for all harvest days but choose one class location per month to attend
Harvest Days: July 14th, August 4th, August 18th, September 1st, September 15th, September 29th, October 13th
Frederick CSA Class: July 2nd, August 6th, September 3rd, October 1st, November 4th
Baltimore CSA Class: July 15th, August 19th, September 16th, October 14th
DC CSA Class: July 16th, August 20th, September 17th, October 15th
During your 4-month internship, you’ll receive:
- Four months of in-field training, hands-on practice, and experience with herbs including planting, caring for, harvesting, and processing plants as well as opportunities for communing with plants and herb people
- Complimentary Fresh Herb CSA share for 4 months with access to study guides, a two hour CSA class, and four bundles of fresh herbs per month
- Participation in the Foraging Stewardship classes on the 2nd Sunday of the month
- Organoleptic tea tasting sessions and mentoring on how to facilitate them
- Access to fresh herbs harvested for personal use
- 20% off of dried herbs purchased
- Access in perpetuity to the Winter Study sessions that run weekly in January and February. These are winter gatherings for all former interns to dive deep into energetics, recipe testing, and class-building ideas
- One field trip to another regional herbal farm for a tour and working experience
- Access to Intern camping nights, seasonal potlucks, and gatherings in perpetuity
- Invitation to become a teacher with Fox Haven upon completion of the internship
What Fox Haven Receives:
- 45-50 hours a month of your participation, labor, human energy and focus on the process of learning about herbs and stewarding herbs as a business. These hours are 40 hours of Wednesday and Friday 5 hour shifts, 4 hours of 1st Sunday harvesting, and 2-3 hours of helping me facilitate a CSA, per month.
- Your offered skills, experience, knowledge, ingenuity, energy, conversation, and companionship
- Guaranteed help for CSA days and processing herbs
- The potential for relationships and evolution together
We encourage folks with herbal medicine knowledge and previous farm study or internship experience to apply but we do not require previous experience.
Compatible applicants must be able to engage in physical activity in the garden under diverse weather conditions and temperatures. We are seeking someone who is able to work as a team and also alone after receiving instruction, who has a strong work ethic and is self-motivated.
Qualified applicants will be people who find pleasure in nature and are willing to take time to observe the plants and habitat to learn how to interact with the herbs to ensure their resilience. This person will have strong focus and commitment.
Qualified applicants can commit to the 45 hours per month and see these 4 months together as a commitment we are making to each other, not a casual volunteer position. If you have to call out (not come with less than 24 hours notice) more than twice in a month we will ask you to step back into a volunteer position. Scheduled vacations and personal days are completely acceptable.
To apply please send a letter of interest including the session you are applying for (Spring or Fall) and answers to the following questions to lacey@foxhavenfarm.org
- What kind of physical labor have you done in the past? What techniques did you use to maintain contentment and health during that hard work?
- Tell us a little about your interests like hobbies, organizations you are active with, subjects you study, sports, food, anything that paints a picture of what you enjoy doing with your time.
- Are there any schedule or health concerns that might prevent you from fulfilling the entire session and if so are there ways we can work together through them?
- What is drawing you to working with herbs specifically? Do you have any special herbs in your life currently?
- What are you most interested to learn or experience through this internship? What is your main motivation?
I desperately wanted a shift in pace and perspective. I was tired, bone tired. What kept me sane was finding solace in nature and plants, but I wanted more than just a nature walk in Brooklyn. I wanted all in! After speaking with Lacey, I knew that spending time on the farm was the shift I needed. So, I figured out how to make it work while balancing 2 jobs, which was TOTALLY worth it…Throughout the internship, I’ve thought deeply about my ancestral connection to the land. This wasn’t my initial intent, but it’s definitely the theme that manifested itself weekly. As the world continued to feel chaotic, my days at the farm kept me grounded. It gave me the space to think about what it means to reclaim my collective right to belong to the earth as a Black and Asian woman and regain a lost kinship with the plants around me. This has been a trying year, but through all of the pain and aches in 2020, plants have gifted me healing and remembrance. – Julianka
The internship at Foxhaven inspired me, challenged me, and taught me so much! It greatly influences the herbalist and human being I am today. With the skills and experience I gained at the Fox Haven internship, I now spend a lot of my time making medicine and herbal goods for my family & community, which brings me much joy and hopefully spreads joy out into the world too! My day job is farming and a lot of the skills and ideas I gained from the internship are integral to my work and extracurriculars/side hustles! – Rhiannon
I encourage future interns and CSA participants to be curious and ask questions. I believe you will find an abundance of wealth if you let yourself dig in the garden and be curious about what is there for you. Digging is actually part of the internship, literally and figuratively. Digging is messy, but I’ve uncovered a lot of treasure in this garden. I am feeling enriched with the wealth of experiences with other people and the tasks that have revealed to me my own capacities and preferences. I now leave the internship with full arms and heart. It will be a joy to polish some of these gems that I uncovered and an honor to return the treasure back to the garden to nourish others. – Natalie
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