Put yourself to service growing rural resilience, sustainable farms, and food security.
Applications OPEN for Paonia AmeriCorps Service Position with CO Farm Food Alliance
Secure Food Systems, Climate Resilience, Rural Engagement
The Colorado Farm & Food Alliance is excited to be a host site for an AmeriCorps Healthy Futures service-member, and to partner with our friends at Mountain Roots who coordinate this program around the region.
The Rural Engagement, Empowerment & Education Associate combines conservation with food security, and is based in a small but vibrant agricultural community of Paonia, on the Western Slope of the Rocky Mountains at the edge of the Colorado Plateau. The complete position description is available here and the application form , which are both found on the Mountain Roots webpage.
The position will serve to help Colorado Farm & Food Alliance learn how to better support local agriculture as it shifts to more regenerative practices, to promote greater drought and climate resilience, to help tell the story of successful practices, and to support that transition.
The Member will also play a vital role in helping make our content and programming more effective, more relevant to, and more available for all members of the community who come from diverse backgrounds and bring a broad set of skills, experiences, and needs.
The North Fork Valley sits at the base of the Rocky Mountains and at the edge of the canyon country of the Colorado Plateau province.
Known for orchards since the 1880s when the Ute people were forcibly removed, the North Fork Valley was likely farmed for thousands of years before settlers arrived. One of Colorado’s oldest archaeological sites is located just downstream from where the North Fork joins the main stem of the Gunnison River. Ancient varieties of maize have been found here and the site has probably been regularly occupied for over 8,000 years, starting as early as 13,000 years ago.
The Colorado Farm & Food Alliance educates about Colorado’s agricultural land and legacy in order to provide a platform for rural leadership, practice and action to promote greater food security, climate response, and healthy lands.
We seek to tell the story of how agriculturalists in this region have always been specialists at adaptation and leaders in promoting system health. That legacy continues today.
Go here to read more about our base of operations, Paonia one of three towns in the North Fork Valley, Delta County.
We encourage that anyone considering this position learn more about living in the North Fork Valley, which is rural and remote, lacks some services that many are accustomed to, and has limited housing available. When you do so you will also learn that it is surrounded by exceptional public lands from mountains to canyons, including the Black Canyon National Park, is home to more than a dozen wineries and an active local food scene, and possesses a certain community spirit that is unique. Not everyone loves it here, but those who do, really do.
the North Rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is outside of the Town of Crawford.
About AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps is the federal agency for national service and volunteerism. AmeriCorps provides opportunities for Americans of all backgrounds to serve their country, address the nation’s most pressing challenges, and improve lives and communities.
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