Grow Pittsburgh is welcoming three Urban Farm Apprentices for this year’s growing season! Get to know them today.

Brittany Bankert
birttany gpBrittany is a Marketing Apprentice who will spend time at all Production sites and help with Farm Stands at both locations. Brittany sees her Apprenticeship as an opportunity acquire skill that compliment her interests of permaculture, herbal medicine, alternative education and social justice.

“I have come to realize that living optimally requires caring for our individual bodies, as well as and as equally important as caring for our larger body, Earth,” said Brittany. “To me, Grow Pittsburgh is a reflection of just one of the many solutions we have available to us, and conveniently enough it exists right here in my local community.”

Brittany has many interests outside of Grow Pittsburgh, including hiking, community organizing, and social gatherings.

 

Nick HaganIMG_8463

Nick is an Apprentice at Braddock Farms. Hopeful for a career in agriculture, Nick sees his apprenticeship as way to expand his farming skills and develop the confidence to continue working in the field on his own.

“I’m very passionate about farming,” he said. “I find it incredibly rewarding that the work I love doing may have a positive impact on others.”

When he’s not working, Nick spends his free time reading and playing music.

 

Alyssa Kail
IMG_8473Alyssa is an Apprentice at Braddock Farms. She and her husband recently bought a house in Braddock after spending 8 years in Portland, OR. Previously, Alyssa farmed at Kretschmann’s and is excited to revisit those skills and strengthen her new community.

“As an artist, I appreciate working with my hands,” she said. “I’m looking forward to digging in the dirt and learning the ins and outs of urban farming.”

Alyssa has worked in a variety of positions in the sustainability field. Most recently, she was recently an artist-in-residence at a waste transfer station (aka, The dump!) in Portland. Her free time is spent working in her studio, renovating her house and making herbal teas and tinctures.