IDEAGARDEN INSTITUTE INCORPORATED

Climate Farm School joined Ideagarden Institute in spring 2024. In 2024, Climate Farm School engaged 125 participants in 11 on-farm courses. The program engaged diverse professionals including physicians, educators, entrepreneurs, farmers, and policymakers. Climate Farm School continued to grow its specialized course programming, including a course for 18 farm-based educators in partnership with Shelburne Farms and the Farm-Based Education Network and a professional development workshop for 15 San Francisco Unified School District School Nutrition Services participants. The program directed $95,000 to regenerative farmers for education, lodging, and food procurement, and featured 15 farmer guest speakers across Climate Farm School programming. The program's alumni network now exceeds 200 individuals connected through email and WhatsApp groups, and approximately 40 alumni successfully transitioned to food and farming system roles after a Climate Farm School course. The program participated in multiple conferences with a speaking opportunity at TEDxBoston, sharing the importance of connecting individuals with on-farm, in the soil, experiences.

The Institute played a role in facilitating the Greg Steltenpohl Pragmatic Visionary Award process to support businesses accelerating the transition to plant-centric food systems.