Grow Pittsburgh's Summer Intern Program provides urban youth with the opportunity to gain summer employment while learning how to preserve the health of our bodies and the environment.  The intensive, hands-on training program engages interns in all phases of sustainable agricultural production while stressing the values of teamwork and community building.  The program also acquaints youth with the "rhythm of work" by teaching them the importance of arriving on time, concentrating on work assignments, completing scheduled tasks, and performing tasks safely and responsibly.

The six-week, hands on agricultural component is augmented by programming that broadens their horizons and creates a holistic learning experience.  One day a week interns take field trips to local farms and environmental program sites that provide living examples of sustainable agriculture production and introduce them to new career possibilities.

Grow Pittsburgh's collaboration with local photographers provides an outlet for artistic expression and personal growth.  By documenting their experiences through the eye of a camera, and presenting their photos at a public exhibit, youth dramatically change the way they look at food.  Their relationship to food is also changed through participation in food cooking demonstrations that introduce them and other community members to simple, healthy meals that can be created from the food they grow. In the past interns have also planned and presented nutrition lessons to elementary students enrolled in summer classes.

East End Summer Internship Program

In partnership with the Student Conservation Association (SCA) Grow Pittsburgh and two other east end organizations; Tree Pittsburgh, and GTECH Strategies share a group of high school student interns for an 8 week period in the summer. The students are interviewed and hired through SCA and spend their internships working on a variety of different projects between the three organizations. Examples of the types of projects the students work on include: Weeding and mulching trees along the East Liberty Blvd Median, basic garden maintenance at Grow Pittsburgh’s Shiloh Peace Garden and the Helen Faison Elementary Garden, building compost bins, weeding around sunflowers, constructing and mending fences, moving soil, and learning how to properly plant. 

Braddock Youth Summer Internship Program

Grow Pittsburgh also hosts a group of high school student interns at our urban farm in Braddock. We partner with the Braddock Youth Project who select and hire the students for an 8 week internship. The students then spend their time working on Braddock Farms harvesting, weeding, constructing and maintaining garden beds, moving soil and building rows, helping to run the Thursday farm stand on Braddock Ave., as well as a variety of other projects.

In addition to their physical labor, the students in both programs are engaged in programs focusing on environmental education, financial literacy, and job skills training. Students also attend a weekly educational field trip. Trips taken in 2010 include Eisler Tree Nursery, Round Hill Farm, Tree & Plant identification at the Pittsburgh Zoo, the Falling Water house, Kayaking in the Allegheny River with Kayak Pittsburgh, the Eat n' Park test kitchen, and a tour of Whole Foods market.