Renee Keitt
Summary
Farming is more than planting a seed in the soil and watering. The foundation is an understanding of soil health and the need for a diverse community of micro and macro-organisms that allow for growth and the transport of nutrients to the roots branching out into the soil and bringing forth growth. It can be said that the biodiversity of plant life is analogous to the world in which we live. We begin with this foundation grounded in theoretical and technical knowledge. The need for diversity allows us to thrive. Food justice and empowerment are dependent on community, engagement and outreach.
As a BIPOC female grower, I am interested in the intersection between food and housing by utilizing short- and long-term planning. I manage, connect, and cultivate relationships with diverse communities and, organizations to share knowledge, and resources to create, engage, support, and maintain communities.
Overview
6
6
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Garden Manager
Kelly Street Garden
03.2021 - Current
- Created a seed-saving library, designed Pollinator areas, and Herbal Apothecary, which contains approximately 80 samples of medicinal plants to present alternative treatments for health disparities existing in the BIPOC community.
- Worked closely with employees to improve practices, techniques and safety choices, optimizing performance, and minimizing waste.
- Manage and train a core group of 15 volunteers and assign tasks to both volunteers, a Farm School Apprentice, and Summer Youth Employment Interns.
- Oversaw cultivation and harvesting of over 1500 pounds in [Type] crops each year.
- Harvest for Farm Share, and set-up up cooking demos.
- Liaise with community chefs who are planning to conduct demos in our garden, appraising them of garden produce available to them.
- Outdoor and indoor mushroom cultivation. Outdoor cultivation used laundry baskets, five-gallon buckets, shitake logs, and soil-building wine cap mushrooms. In partnership with Cornell small farms trialed a repurposed beverage refrigerator to see whether mushroom cultivation was possible and experimented with ways to increase yields.
-
Assistant Garden Manager
Kelly Street Garden
03.2021 - 12.2022
Apprentice
Kelly Street Garden
02.2018 - 12.2019
Education
Housing
School of Labor And Urban Studies
New York 12.2022
Community Mushroom Education Training
Cornell
New York2021
Urban Agriculture
Farm School
New York2018
Skills
- Community outreach
- Problem solving
- Mulching practices
- Event coordination
- Inventory management
- Crop Planning and Rotation
- Facilitation
- Volunteer management
- Event Management
- Project Management
- Mushroom Cultivation
Certification
- ServSafe Food Handler, National Restaurant Association -2023
- Zero Waste Academy, Sanitation Foundation - April 2023
- Cooperative Economic Alliance of New York , CEANYC , January 2019
- Master Composter, Lower East Side Ecology Center 2015
- Food Handler License , NYC Department of Health Food Handlers Certificate - 2015
Timeline
Garden Manager
Kelly Street Garden
03.2021 - Current
Assistant Garden Manager
Kelly Street Garden
03.2021 - 12.2022
Apprentice
Kelly Street Garden
02.2018 - 12.2019
Housing
School of Labor And Urban Studies
Community Mushroom Education Training
Cornell
Urban Agriculture
Farm School
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