Every summer, for the past 18 years, 40 young people from across West Contra Costa County have stepped onto a farm, picked up a shovel, or restored a creek for the very first time. For many, it’s also the first time they’ve been paid to learn, to be mentored by environmental professionals, or encouraged to imagine a future working with the land.

These experiences often become turning points. A summer apprenticeship can inspire a lifelong career in farming, nutrition education, public health, or environmental stewardship. A fellowship can ignite a passion for restoring our local creeks and waterways and serving the community. A young person who never imagined themselves as a leader discovers not only what they have to offer, but also that their voice matters, their presence is needed, and they truly belong.

For two decades, Urban Tilth’s Summer Youth Apprentice Program (SYAP) and the Rudy Lozito Fellowship (RLF) have helped make those transformations possible. More than summer jobs or educational programs, they are paid pathways into leadership development, mentorship, hands-on experience, professional training, and the confidence to build a future rooted in community.

Summer Youth Apprentice Program: Learning by Doing

Each year, the Summer Youth Apprentice Program brings together West County youth for six weeks of hands-on learning at community gardens, creek restoration projects, and farming sites across Richmond.

Over the course of 100 hours, apprentices work alongside Urban Tilth staff to build hands-on skills in urban agriculture and land stewardship. They learn how to prepare soil, plant and care for crops, identify and manage pests using natural methods, harvest food, restore creeks, and maintain healthy growing spaces. They also visit farms and community organizations across the Bay Area, take part in workshops and field trips, share meals, and learn directly from farmers, educators, organizers, and land stewards about how they grow food, care for local ecosystems, and serve their communities.

For many participants, what begins as a summer job quickly becomes something much more.

One apprentice reflected in their end-of-summer speech that they expected the program to be “just another summer job”: show up, clock in, and clock out. Instead, they found themselves laughing with new friends, cooking and sharing meals, exploring places they had never been, and discovering just how much they had learned along the way.

That kind of transformation is what makes the Summer Youth Apprentice Program so powerful.

Many participants arrive not knowing anyone else in the program or what opportunities might exist within or beyond their own neighborhoods. By the end of six weeks, they’ve built lasting friendships, found mentors who continue to support them, spoken confidently in front of community members, and discovered strengths they didn’t know they had. They begin to see themselves not just as workers, or students, but as environmental leaders, educators, and changemakers with something valuable to contribute to their community.

Working side by side with farmers, restoration specialists, educators, and community leaders turns abstract career ideas into real possibilities. Apprentices don’t just learn about environmental careers; they meet the people doing these jobs, ask questions, build relationships, and begin imagining themselves in those roles. They leave with practical skills, professional references, and the confidence to pursue paths they may never have considered before.

Just as importantly, this  opportunity are paid. For many young people especially those from disadvantaged communities, spending a summer in an unpaid internship or volunteer program simply isn’t an option. By providing stipends, Urban Tilth ensures that participants don’t have to choose between gaining valuable experience and earning an income. Apprentices are able to learn while supporting themselves and their families, reinforcing an important message from day one: their time, their labor, and their contributions have value.

The Rudy Lozito Urban Agriculture Fellowship: Creating Pathways for the Next Generation of Farmers

Unlike a one-day workshop or volunteer event, RLF is an intensive urban farming training program for young people who feel called to farming but may not have traditional pathways into agriculture. Fellows gain hands-on experience working at the North Richmond Farm and on some of our 13 local partner farms, securing important certifications, developing technical skills, learning about land access, and exploring what it takes to build a future in farming.

This fellowship is intentionally shaped around both core agricultural training and the interests of the participants. Every month introduces participants to new mentors, organizations, and hands-on experiences that expand both their knowledge and their professional network.

Urban Tilth also invests directly in fellows by covering the cost of valuable professional certifications and trainings that would otherwise be financially out of reach. Participants have earned certifications in permaculture design, gained specialized agricultural skills, and gone on to pursue additional training in irrigation, carpentry, and sustainable building. These credentials leave fellows with practical experience and a portfolio of skills they can carry into future careers.

The results speak for themselves. Since the fellowship began, graduates have gone on to launch careers and businesses beyond the Urban Tilth. For some, the fellowship became the stepping stone into environmental work they had been searching for. Others used it to make a complete career change, discovering that their future belonged in farming, restoration, and community stewardship.

Perhaps most importantly, fellows leave knowing they belong in this work. 

Help us nurture our seeds through the storm:

Bringing Back Youth programming in 2027

Today, both the Summer Youth Apprentice Program and Rudy Lozito Urban Farming Fellowship are on pause.

Going into 2026, Urban Tilth knew we were entering a difficult funding landscape. With fewer grant opportunities, increased competition, and significant reductions in available funding, we had to make difficult choices to protect our core programs and continue meeting urgent community needs.

We focused our resources on keeping essential programs running: providing fresh food through our Free Farm Stand and CSA programs, supporting school partnerships, and making sure families continued to have access to healthy food.

But without the funding to sustain the Summer Youth Apprentice Program and the Rudy Lozito Fellowship, we were forced to pause two of our most transformative youth programs.

These programs provide something that is increasingly difficult to find: paid opportunities for young adults to explore a new career while receiving mentorship, professional training, and meaningful work experience. For many participants, especially those in their twenties, taking time away from work to pursue a new path simply isn’t financially possible. These fellowships remove that barrier, allowing participants to learn, earn, and build a future at the same time.

Even during difficult times, we cannot stop investing in our next generations. The young people in our community deserve opportunities to learn, lead, explore, and imagine new futures.

Now, we’re asking for your help.

Today we are raising the funds needed to bring back these critical programs.

Every contribution brings us one step closer to welcoming a new cohort of apprentices and fellows back to the farm. Your support helps fund youth stipends, hands-on training, field experiences, professional certifications, and the mentorship that makes these programs so transformative.

Together, we can restore these opportunities and continue growing the next generation of farmers, environmental leaders, and community stewards.

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