Amid Tarrant County’s rapid growth, the NW horticulture program and Grow North Texas are collaborating to educate the metroplex on urban farming.
Grow North Texas, a nonprofit aimed at creating sustainable food systems, will curate curriculum for NW on how to farm in industrialized areas, a division of agriculture that the nonprofit’s farm success manager, Helen Dulac, said is increasingly needed.
“The pandemic showed us that our local food systems need to be more resilient, and that starts with growing food and growing food at a larger scale,” she said. “[Grow North Texas] wants to increase the number of urban farmers and help them be successful. In order to do that, we need partnerships across Dallas and Tarrant County.”
The monthly, two-hour classes are expected to begin later in the spring. Dulac said the first four classes will focus on water and irrigation.
“Growing in North Texas is very challenging with our soil and climate,” she said. “To grow enough produce to sell or market, you need good irrigation.”
Dulac said they eventually hope to teach the mechanical skills necessary for urban farming, such as electrical work, small engine repair, greenhouse and truck trailer classes.
Under the partnership, Grow North Texas will also sponsor 10 beginner farmers from across Tarrant County to attend the new classes.
However, a federal funding freeze in January restricted grant money Grow North Texas intended to use to cover their tuition, delaying
the initial start date. Dulac said despite the setback, they’re still committed to their mission of educating local farmers and are looking for alternative funding avenues.
“If we’re not able to access federal funding for agriculture, I think that’s just going to strengthen the grassroots support for agriculture and emphasize that there is a need for locally grown foods,” she said. “We hope we can tap into other groups or organizations, or people will be willing to provide funding or scholarships for people to attend these courses.”
Horticulture program coordinator David Cole said that through the partnership, he hopes to address a steady decrease in family farms by attracting those not raised in the agricultural industry.
“Usually, farmers are incredibly well-rounded in their handson skills, whether it’s fixing their vehicles, equipment, plumbing, electrical, carpentry, because that’s usually not economically feasible to contract out,” he said.
“Some of those hands-on skills are missing in a larger portion of urban raised generation. They didn’t grow up in that environment, and it’s more likely they don’t have any experience doing that stuff.”
For Cole, Grow North Texas’s focus on smaller, local farmers made the partnership an obvious choice.
“I think [Grow North Texas] would share my opinion that smaller, more diversified farms are the best way to go,” he said. “The market is wide-open, as far as demand for locally grown, organic, fresh produce, particularly in North Texas.”
The classes will also be open to community members outside the horticulture program, said Janetta Kruse, divisional dean for lifestyle and community learning.
“This is just the start of many partnerships with community members,” she said. “A lot of families don’t have any idea what all we do other than our general academic programs. It’s a great way for us to recruit and spread awareness about TCC and the resources that we offer, not only at NW Campus, but all through the district.”
Kruse said the partnership goes beyond the additional education offered to students but could help them with employment after graduation.
“By having Grow North Texas be out in the community, there’s a lot of contacts that they’re aware of to share with our students that we may not be aware of, but that they are because they’re in that industry every day,” she said.
Horticulture student Ben Beagles said he believes that bringing in third-party partners means potentially connecting with future employers.
“Whenever we graduate, where do you think we’re going to work?” he said. “We’re going to work for foundations, nonprofit organizations, different places that are in support of the next generation of horticulturists.”
Beagles said having experienced farmers teaching a younger generation means much-needed growth for the industry.
“Concentrating on food crops is important because it’s kind of where we’re going,” he said. “With groceries as expensive as they are, being able to grow some of our own will save people in the long run.”
Horticulture student Monica Villalobos said she’s excited to see a higher focus on urban farming, a topic she used to teach lowincome elementary school students through a different nonprofit.
“[DFW] is only getting more and more urban,” she said. “We’re running out of space. We need to teach people how to grow things, and we can show people how to dothis in the space that they have.”