Students
How students can get involved
The Centre for Sustainable Food Systems provides many for-credit and not-for-credit opportunities for students to get their hands dirty and learn about the food system. Get information below on internships, courses, volunteering, student groups, and more.
Not For Credit
Get involved with the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at UBC Farm.
Much of the great work that happens at the UBC Farm is made possible by the continued support of the Farm’s dedicated volunteers. The UBC Farm volunteer program provides UBC students, staff, faculty members, and members of the wider community the chance to gain hands-on experience in many aspects of small-scale sustainable farming.
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The Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at UBC Farm offers paid Student Work Learn, for-credit Career Development, and Volunteering positions.
Find available opportunities
For Credit
Courses and academic credit for UBC students, and certificate programs for non-UBC students.
Programs
Interested in a degree in Applied Biology, Global Resource Systems, or Food, Nutrition and Health? Explore Land and Food Systems’ Undergraduate programs.
Land and Food Systems Courses
- AGEC - Agricultural Economics**
- ANSC - Animal Science**
- APBI - Applied Biology
- FNH - Food, Nutrition and Health
- FOOD - Food Science**
- FRE - Food and Resource Economics
- GRS - Global Resource Systems
- HUNU - Human Nutrition**
- LFS - Land and Food Systems
- LWS - Land and Water Systems**
- PLNT - Plant Science**
- SOIL - Soil Science**
Forestry at the UBC Farm
About half of the UBC Farm is second-growth forest and it is a rich area for learning and research. The Faculty of Forestry is a partner with the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at UBC Farm, and offer students and instructors opportunities to learn about cultivating forest stewardship.
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Gain credit and career experience
LFS 496 Career Development placements prepare UBC students professionally and academically for future careers through a mentored learning experience with a real food business or organization. Students apply the theory they gain from class through on-the-ground, food system-related work and course assignments that support their practical learning.
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The UBC Farm Practicum in Sustainable Agriculture is a six (or four)-month experiential learning program designed for aspiring farmers, urban gardeners, environmental educators, and students with an interest in applying their learning about sustainable agriculture and food systems.
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Develop your understanding of the connections between food, health, society and the environment, and gain tools to solve complex food systems problems locally and globally, with the UBC Minor in Sustainable Food Systems.
Students completing the minor are immersed in experiential and interdisciplinary learning opportunities, involving several departments and faculties across UBC, as well as off- campus partners.
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If you want your education to have a big impact, learn with us at the CSFS at UBC Farm – and a great way to get involved is through the Faculty of Land and Food Systems (LFS) at UBC. In an LFS degree, you’ll work with professors, professional practitioners, community leaders and peers to drive change in the areas of food security and safety, human nutrition, and the way we lean on our land. LFS programs even let you get your hands dirty to study and learn right here at the UBC Farm!
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Instructors
Instructors and Faculty
Bring your class to the UBC Farm
Planning to bring your class to the UBC Farm? Looking to book a tour? Fill out our Booking Form for Academic Visits and Guided Tours! We need to know when classes are on site for safety reasons, and it helps us plan our educational programming appropriately to make sure your class has the best experience possible.
Academic Space Bookings
The CSFS provides indoor and outdoor spaces such as agricultural fields, conservation forests, and classrooms for teaching activities at the UBC Farm and MacMillan 170A.
For information on research and teaching space booking fees and policies, please see Academic Space Use Guidelines. To book space contact our Site Coordinator.
Food Systems Learning Resources
Just Food Educational Resource: Food Justice Learning Modules
The Just Food resource was born from a group of students’ desire to incorporate an equity lens into their learning, and to address the injustice they saw in their daily lives. It consists of learning modules on food systems and a facilitator’s guide. A diverse range of topics are covered, including agriculture, food studies, nutrition, and more.
Find the Learning Modules here.
Food Systems Case Studies
The Centre for Sustainable Food Systems created open educational resources that can be adapted to any discipline, by anyone at UBC or elsewhere. These case studies provide an experiential and place-based learning opportunity by exploring and understanding a food system asset at UBC.
Find Food Systems Case Studies here.
Children's Programs
What are the kids learning at the UBC Farm?
Day camps and school field trips bring thousands of K-12 students to the UBC Farm each year. From gardening their plots in the children’s garden, to identifying bugs along the agroforestry trail, there is a bounty of hand-on activities for kids in our child and youth programs. Field games, seeding in the greenhouse, baking with farm produce, fort-building, composting, apple picking, chicken feeding, berry picking, potato hunting and medicine making just to name a few.
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Indigenous Gardens
Indigenous Initiatives at the UBC Farm
The Centre for Sustainable Food Systems (CSFS) at UBC Farm is located on the unceded ancestral territory of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓-speaking xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) people, whose guidance and collaboration is vital to all activities on the Farm. Several gardens run educational programming autonomously at the UBC Farm.