Trillium Farm Community Land Trust hosts Birch Creek Arts & Ecology
Center at our wilderness sanctuary and eco-village in the Siskiyou
Mountains of S.W. Oregon. Internships provide a unique opportunity to
spend a season or two at our rustic wilderness homestead and college
campus, immersed in intentional community and the beauty of the natural
surroundings. Internships are
available each season with a suggested minimal Internship of 3 months.
Each season offers a variety of projects and programs, celebrated with
Family Gatherings, dinners, and special events.
We
are looking for highly motivated folks who love the natural world and
approach life with an attitude of integrity and optimism, and who are willing to
learn new ways of living, working and serving.
Areas
of service include all aspects of gardening, events, grounds and maintenance,
cleaning and beautifying of community spaces, construction, ponds and waterfall
restorations, permaculture, and office work…there is something of interest for
everybody. Come, learn about truly organic gardening, alternative building,
permaculture, stream and pond restoration, natural history, environmental ethics
and activism, hosting large events and gatherings, living in Place, wilderness
homesteading, harmonizing with the seasons, creating beauty, celebrating
community, spirituality, and land stewardship.
It
is our intention that by providing Internships with Trillium Farm Community Land
Trust we are offering a program of unique opportunities:
-
to live and
work in an intentional community, developing a sense of Place in a remote
setting where the power of the surrounding wilderness provides inspiration
for personal growth;
-
to share in
community life ways by participating in our work parties, celebrations, meal
preparations and sharing, spiritual pursuits, hikes, and visioning;
-
to learn the
higher ideals of love and service both within our community and how that
translates into the larger community;
-
to
understand one’s Self at deeper levels through the community process, and
practicing
right relationship through honesty and compassionate communication;
-
to become an
advocate for the preservation of alternative life ways through the
understanding of environmental ethics, education, developing homesteading
skills, and hosting cultural events.
The
Internship Program is designed to be a hands-on educational experience and a
practice period of learning how
to grow a garden and steward a remote educational
retreat center. We are a non-profit service farm. We steward a
complex area of Land with irrigation, landscaping, orchard maintenance, firewood
cutting, greenhouse work, maintenance of infrastructure (roads, trails, water
systems, cabins, etc.) We are not a large commercial and/or production farm; we
grow food organically on an intensive gardening scale while providing a
place for people to come to learn, heal, and expand through Birch Creek Arts & Ecology Center programs.
We invite you here
to Trillium, where you can witness and become a
part of the great beauty and harmony that this wilderness setting offers.
It is one of our ways of serving the greater good as we know the
transformations that this beautiful Land facilitates.
Each of us will naturally be drawn to work within certain areas that
compliment our talents and interests, while other projects will seem less
desirable. True service is the ability to
do what others do not want to do. Everyday holds something
new. We try to do our best to match the person with the task, but we all
remember it takes our common effort to achieve the goal.
There will be times when each of us is asked to stretch our vision of
service to get the job done.
Spring
is when
we begin turning the earth of the Mother Garden, one-acre of organic paradise.
The Ridge Gardens are warmed and the greenhouse comes to life.
Spring is also the time when we resume building projects. Summer
is a very busy time here, with the Gardens always demanding our attention
and the events hosted by Birch Creek Arts & Ecology Center. The Center hosts
a variety of workshops and camps dedicated to the fine and healing arts,
personal growth, and the magic of our planet Earth.
Autumn is the
harvest, food preservation, seed saving, winter preparations, more building
projects, the Fall Ecostery and our annual Thanksgiving Gathering.
Winter is the time of quiet medicine, keeping the home fires
burning, artist residencies, event and garden planning, office work, and
environmental activism.
Interns
are encouraged to participate in all aspects of community life here at Trillium,
which may, on occasion, take one away from their area of focus, especially
during Gathering Season (May ~ August).
Interns
are considered to be temporary Trillium Residents, sharing the
responsibility of running a wilderness eco-village, cultural, educational
retreat center. We ask that you
look at your time here holistically, understanding that there is a blend between
work, play, service, and creativity. We
want you to show your effort of willingness towards the work and the Vision.
Your week may look like this in terms of hours and responsibilities:
3-4
days in your area of focus
1
day participating in Trillium Resident Work Party
2-3
hours weekly for councils, meetings
and community meals
Interns are provided with a
shared sleeping space in one of our beautiful rustic cabins, a comfortable bed,
use of a lovely kitchen, outdoor shower, small shared office
with separate telephone and internet connection, and a community living area to
gather. Community bulk supplies are available to Interns. These include: a wide
variety of dry organic legumes, organic grains, organic baking supplies and
garden food. Specialty foods for personal use such as coffee, tea, tofu, etc.
are provided by Interns. Interns are asked to maintain a vegetarian kitchen
while at Trillium. Trillium is a wildlife sanctuary, so please do not bring
pets.
See list of things to bring at bottom.
We
ask that each Intern be available a minimum 25-30 hours per week.
Absences are not encouraged for more than 2 consecutive days, unless it
is during your week off which we plan into the season. Please do not arrange to
have an outside job while Interning or guests without checking with community at
councils. Internships
are designed to offer a full immersion into Trillium Community life.
It is our sincere intention that you find your time here a beneficial and
rewarding experience to your heart, mind and soul.
Please expect a bit of culture shock, it is not unusual.
Also expect jubilation, spontaneous explosions of beauty, and to learn a
great deal. If at any time you are uncomfortable or have questions, we are always
available to your needs.
Academic
Credit Available through Antioch University!
Optional
opportunities to earn academic credit are available through self-directed,
experiential courses offered by Dakubetede Environmental Education Programs www.deepwild.org/deep.htm
for an extra fee of $375 for 3-credit courses and $625 for
5-credit courses. Maximum 2 academic credit courses per 3-month Internship.
Present courses available include:
-
Community
Studies:
Home In Community (3 Social studies credits); learning the skills and
practices of community at Trillium and in the Little Applegate Watershed.
-
Natural
History of Trillium Farm
(5 science credits); learning the manifestations of Nature in our habitat.
-
Exploring
Science in the Organic Garden and Permaculture Landscape (3
science credits); learning the science of living in Place to satisfy our
needs.
-
Art
and Nature
(3 art credits); learning about our connection to the natural world through
our inner creative processes.
-
Conservation
Biology as Education of Place
(3 science credits); learning the nuts & bolts of grassroots watershed
conservation activism as the process of developing an education of Place
-
The Art of Truly Organic Gardening
(3 science credits); studying the techniques of bio-dynamics and other
organic methods, beauty in the garden, garden design, watering techniques,
and more.
Application
To begin
your application process for a Trillium Volunteer Internship, please provide us with a
detailed letter of intent, using the Community
Questionnaire as a guide for providing us with a clear description of who
you are and why you would like to participate in an internship at this time.
Community
Questionnaire
Please answer the questions
in your letter of introduction:
-
Where do you hail from?
-
Who is your family? Parents? Siblings? What are the qualities of
these relationships?
-
Describe your other primary relationships?
-
What experiences and/or learning
opportunities are you seeking at Trillium Farm?
-
What is your previous experience living and working with other
people?
-
What is your
working style?
-
What previous
physical labor have you done?
-
What
farming/gardening tools are you already familiar with?
-
What is your previous experience in the wilderness?
-
What are your
long-term goals?
-
What are your personal habits? How tidy do you tend to keep your
environment?
-
Are you vegetarian? (Why or why not).
-
Do you consider yourself easy to live with?
-
How well do you work with others?
-
How well do you learn new things? Are you able to follow instructions?
-
Do you prefer to learn from others, or teach?
-
What are your passions and devotions?
Do you have a spiritual path?
-
What do you consider to be some of your greatest gifts to offer as an
Intern?
-
What have you identified to be some of your issues and/or challenges
at this time?
-
Do you have any allergies or physical ailments?
-
Are you comfortable in clothing optional settings?
-
Who would we contact in case of emergency?
BIRCH CREEK ARTS & ECOLOGY
CENTER AGREEMENT
As
an intern with Trillium Community I agree to the following:
-
To honor and abide by the agreements as written in the Trillium Book.
-
To fully participate in the Internship Program with integrity and
enthusiasm.
-
25 hours of weekly service.
-
To fully participate in councils and discussions with feedback and
questions.
-
To offer a clear sense of being in right relationship with each other
and the Land.
-
To show up and be present for work parties, family dinners and
councils.
-
To honor every community member as a sacred and beautiful being.
-
To honor every community space as a beautiful space by keeping my
personal belongings tidy and honoring the Sacred Space ideal.
-
To respect other’s privacy and living spaces.
-
To not bring meat, guns or illicit drugs to Trillium
-
To
offer my hours of work each week in a spirit of service, keeping track of
projects and hours.
We expect Interns to practice a vegetarian diet focused on natural
organic foods & to leave behind unhealthy habits (i.e. junk food, excessive
use of alcohol, tobacco or substance abuse) that would interfere with community
and natural life way processes.
As
an Intern, many of the responsibilities and privileges will be shared with other
Trillium residents. These include use of the School House for food storage,
cooking, bathing and visiting. Responsibilities to maintain community flow will
include a variety of chores dependent upon the season such as stacking firewood
in the School, Farmhouse and Cedar Barn, cleaning, sweeping and beautifying the
community spaces, organizing community spaces as needed for changing seasons,
visitors, events, etc. Interns are expected to be present for the time you have
agreed to be here. Absences of more than 3 consecutive days need to be arranged
in advance with other community residents (unless of course an emergency
arises).
We
expect each Intern to perform regular beautifying and maintenance on their own
cabins by keeping a tidy home, washing windows, winterizing or summarizing as
needed, stacking own wood, yard work, and so on. We have various special
projects available if you would like to expand further..
I
have fully read and understood the above and I am willing to abide by the
Internship Agreement.
______________________________________signed
_____________________date
When you are satisfied with
your letter, simply e-mail (or
"snail" mail) it to us with "Application: Internship" in the subject heading and we will get back to you as soon as
possible. We would
also like to request two letters of recommendation, ideally from a previous
employer (longer than 6 months) and mentor or peer that knows you well. You can mail them
along with your application or have them either e-mailed or snail mailed
directly to us.
Once all of your application material has
been reviewed, we will contact you as soon as we are able to further explore the
possibilities of your internship. During the next step, you will receive a
package from us and we will ask you to closely examine it's contents and to
fully read all the material. Once another conversation or two occurs, you should
be preparing to spend time at the Birch Creek Arts & Ecology Center at
historic Trillium Farm!
We look forward to reading your letter!
In Gratitude and Service we thank you very much.
trillium@deepwild.org
Please
write "Birch Creek Application/Inquiry" in e-mail subject
line.
Birch Creek Arts & Ecology Center
Attn: Internship
PO Box 1330
Jacksonville, OR 97530
(541) 899-1696
Here is a list of things to
bring.
bedding:
warm sleeping bag or sheets and warm blankets (we are in the mountains
and it get chilly at night!)
pillow
headlamp or flashlight
warm clothes for chilly mountain temperatures
lightweight clothes for summer
work clothes
clothing you love
candles
in glass jars
towels
natural
shampoo and personal products
First aide kit with Tecnu (poison oak deterrent)
phone card
art supplies, journals
books
daypack
hiking shoes
around the farm shoes/gardening shoes
town shoes
sandals like TEVA or Chaco for the trails
house slippers for community space
raingear
hats
bathing suit (optional)
warm gloves
work gloves
special foods or supplements you will need
scarves, shawls, sarongs
things to make your cabin lovely
specialty food items you will want to have right away i.e. coffee, tea, cheese,
fresh fruits, bread, sweets, veggies (till the Garden comes on) all organic bulk
items –grains, legumes, etc. are available for you.
if
you have:
wetsuit
canoe
camera
binoculars
laptop
If you think of anything we may have forgotten, please let us know.
Internship
Information and Application Print Format
