West Oakland flower farm to provide job training for youth
on December 14, 2018
In West Oakland, GROW Oakland Farm is in transition. Since 2014, the flower farm had been operating as the West Oakland Woods (WOW) Flower Farm under the leadership of Game Theory Academy, a nonprofit that teaches youth participants about financial literacy and how to run a business. But this summer, the flower farm became GROW Oakland Farm and is currently being run by Beyond Emancipation, a nonprofit that offers services like job training, navigating housing resources, and educational support to former foster youth transitioning into adulthood. Starting in February, 2019, youth from Beyond Emancipation will be interning at the farm, learning the basics of horticulture and urban farming, along with the skills of running a small business. GROW Oakland Farm sells floral arrangement to local business and floral services for special events, like weddings.
On a rainy Saturday morning, a group of high schoolers, volunteers and farm employees pulled out the season’s leftover dead flowers. They’re preparing for planting season and the start of a new phase at the farm. Click through the photo slideshow above to see them in action.
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- On a rainy Saturday morning, a group of interns and volunteers gathered at GROW Oakland Farm in front of Oakland’s historic 16th Street Train Station. They spent much of the morning clearing out dead flowers in preparation for planting.
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- Since 2014, the farm was operated as WOW Flower Farm by Game Theory Academy. Beyond Emancipation, a nonprofit that works former foster youth transitioning into adulthood, took over in July, 2018—with plans for increased programming.
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- Jess Myles, the farm manager at GROW, says that the poor air quality and rainy weather slowed down the transition to the new internship program. Myles says the program should be in full operation in February, when the flowers start to bloom.
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- Julia Lakes (right), development manager for Beyond Emancipation, says interns will start working in early 2019 to learn about urban farming and get job training.
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- Catalina Velasco (left), a senior at Lighthouse Community Charter High School, started interning last February. Sarah Onaderu (right), a senior at Oakland Charter High School, started interning over two years ago.
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- Part of Velasco and Onaderu’s responsibilities are to take flowers from the farm and craft them into bouquets. According to Lakes, interns will also learn skills like customer service and how to sell their floral arrangements to prospective clients.
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- Myles offered Velasco and Onaderu guidance on what should go into their arrangements for that day. Velasco says that “she’s always been an outdoor person,” so she loves working with the flowers.
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- That Saturday, Velasco and Onaderu put together 18 bouquets for nearby Mandela Foods Cooperative, a West Oakland grocery store. Many of GROW’s clients are local businesses that support their mission—and love their flowers, according to Myles.
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- It was Yvette Weathersby’s first day at GROW. She works for Ross Stores, the department store chain. As part of its corporate social responsibility team, she was testing out GROW to see if more Ross employees could volunteer there.
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- After finishing up with the bouquets, Velasco worked on removing dead flowers and branches on the farm. She finds this type of work peaceful. “It kind of de-stresses me to work outside and work with my hands like this,” she says.
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- As Velasco worked, the rain stopped and the sun came out, shining brightly on the rows of culled flowers. Working at the farm is an escape from routine for Velasco: “After being in school most days, it’s nice to find time to be outside.”
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- Weathersby and her colleague from Ross Stores, Kristin Smith, didn’t have much experience with farming beforehand. By the afternoon, they’d prepped several rows for planting. Despite the muddy morning, they enjoyed the work, says Smith.
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- GROW looked dreary—gray from the weather, brown from dead flowers—that morning. But soon, “the farm will be vibrant and overflowing with colors and flowers in bloom,” Myles says. By then, Beyond Emancipation interns will be filling flower orders regularly.
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