Join us on the herb farm for this hands-on work-for-learning exchange through the growing season
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We are now taking applications to the Seasonal Farm Internship at Ravensong for the 2024 season. We are offering three sessions this season: Spring, Summer & Fall (yes, you may apply for them all!). This is a rare opportunity to fully immerse yourself in all aspects of farm work, herb growing, harvesting and processing under the guidance of experienced herbalists and herb-growers on a small medicinal herb farm. This opportunity is a work-for-learning exchange that offers the opportunity to recieve instruction and gain a wide range of experience in herb growing, while building community and connection working as part of a small team.
Location: Ravensong Seeds & Herbals, Black Creek, Vancouver Island BC
ABOUT RAVENSONG
Ravensong Seeds & Herbals is a small farm and home business based in Black Creek (Comox Valley) Vancouver Island BC. We produce herb seeds for organic growing, as well as herbal products such as tinctures, salves, and hydrosols. All seeds, as well as all herbs for the products, are grown locally on the farm. It is our greatest passion to honour and learn from nature, while focusing on regenerative growing and harvesting practices.
Ravensong was founded by herbalist Jessy Delleman in 2010, and has been co-managed by Harmony Pillon since 2014. In addition to growing seeds and herbs, and preparing herbal medicines for the business, Jessy and Harmony also co-facilitate an 8 month long Herbal Apprenticeship Program. Workshops on plant spirit medicine, astrology, herb-growing, wildcrafting, and medicine-making are also offered on the farm.
internship PROGRAM details
Participating in an internship at Ravensong offers the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the various aspects of a thriving herb farm, seed and herbal product business. Tasks and activities vary through the growing season and include plant propagation, gardening and farm labour, watering and weeding, harvesting and processing herbs (both from the wild and the garden), tincture making, seed-saving, seed cleaning, and other activities.
As an intern you become an integral part of our farm team for that period of time and are relied upon to be punctual, and attend each day of your commitment. We value the time and effort of our interns, and offer a truly mutually beneficial work & learning exchange. Opportunities to gain a wide variety of experiences will be given, as well as mini-lessons regarding aspects of herbalism and herb farming such as materia medica for different plants in the garden.
Willingness to work hard, and enthusiasm about exploring the world of herb growing and herbal medicine are essential!
internship dates
Spring Internship:
April 11th - June 20th 2024 (11 weeks)
Thursdays 9:30am-4pm
The spring internship focuses on getting the gardens ready for the season ahead with plant propagation, bed building and planting, weeding, mulching; as well as some harvesting and processing of barks and spring herbs; medicine making will include infused vinegars, tinctures, honeys.
Summer Internship dates:
June 27th - August 29th 2024 (10 weeks)
Thursdays 9:30am-4pm
The summer internship involves a large amount of herb harvesting (primarily aerial parts of flowering herbs), herb processing, tincture making; as well as various farm work, watering, and some planting. Seed-saving will also begin in the summer.
Fall Internship dates:
Sept 5th - Nov 7th 2023 (10 weeks)
Thursdays 9:30am-4pm
The fall internship focuses putting the gardens to bed for the winter; this is the primary time for seed saving and cleaning; plus the season of root harvesting; medicine making will include tincture making, as well as infused vinegars and honeys.
“Oh, my goodness. If you ever get the chance to be a part of Ravensong Seeds & Herbals farm internship program, do it – it will change your life. I just completed the spring, summer, and fall sessions and absolutely loved it! I learned so much over my time spent on Jessy’s farm and feel confident I can use the tools and experience gained to grow, harvest, and make medicinal tinctures/oils specifically for what ails me and my family. Jessy & Harmony are so calm and patient in their teaching style that it made it easy to follow and learn. Working alongside the other interns was always a feel-good day that I looked forward to each Thursday. I will miss everyone but hope to keep in touch. Good luck to next year’s applicants!”
“Applying for the Ravensong seasonal internship was one of the most rewarding decisions I have ever made. The hands on learning and guidance has deepened my understanding and confidence in working with herbs. Jessy and Harmony are both passionate teachers. This experience is well worth the time commitment.”
“Thank you for a wonderful internship. It was more than I imagined. I have learned what each herb looks like in its birth from a seed to its maturity in fall. I loved touching, smelling, tasting the plant and acknowledging how it feels in my body. I enjoyed the field trips and now I look everywhere and at everything when I do nature walks. I really enjoyed making the medicinal tinctures, honeys, vinegars, oils. I love the minute we harvest the plant we process it. I appreciate all the care and attention that goes into growing the plants and making the medicine. Jessy is very approachable and shares her knowledge and experience easily. I love it when she said any of you can do this and showed us how. Harmony was an absolute pleasure to work with and learn from. The spring internship was such a great experience for the whole group that we chose to continue altogether into the fall. I cherished the joy, knowledge, stories and the energy we all shared together. I will miss our Thursdays together and will always be grateful for the experience. I highly recommend this experience it was so much more than I could have ever expected!”
Internship FAQ
Q: How many interns are you taking for each session?
A: We accept 5 interns for each of the sessions.
Q: I am not available for all the dates in the session I’d like to attend, should I still apply?
A: Yes/No. We prefer that each intern is able to commit to all dates for the chosen session, but we will consider making exceptions for stellar applicants that need to miss 1 or 2 weeks.
Q: Is interning the same as volunteering?
A: Interning differs from casual volunteering, in that it is a structured program requiring a time commitment and effort from its participants, just as a job or educational program would require.
Q: Is it possible to attend the spring, summer, and fall sessions of the internship?
A: Yes! We love having our hard working and passionate interns return for successive sessions of the Internship. Each season offers opportunties for hands-on experience in different areas of herb growing and medicine making, so attending them all will give you the most well-rounded experience.
Q: How are the internship days usually structured?
A: Intern days usually begin with a morning of group farm work with activities such as weeding, harvesting, watering, planting, etc, followed by an afternoon of processing herbs together, and making tinctures or other herbals. Time will be set aside each week for mini-lessons on everything from materia medica, plant-spirit medicine, distilling, medicine making, wild-harvesting, herb growing, and seed-saving.
Q: Will I be paid as an intern?
A: No. The internship program is designed as a work-for-learning program. As an intern you will be instructed, tended to, and offered a variety of valuable learning opportunties in exchange for your hard work.
Q: How physically demanding is the internship?
A: Fairly demanding! If you do not enjoy physical labour and moving your body out in the rain and sun this internship is not for you. At least half of each day will require moderate physical activity. Due to the nature of garden work, you will need to be able bodied, reasonably fit, and able to work in various outdoor conditions. Example activities that require a moderate fitness level for the internship are pushing a wheel barrow full of mulch up an incline, shovelling and raking soil, digging roots, pick axing out rocks, and bending or squatting to harvest herbs or do weeding.
Q: Do I need any materials or supplies to attend the internship.
A: We would appreciate it if you had your own hand-pruners for harvesting herbs, as well as gardening gloves, and proper attire for working outdoors. Here is a link to the kind of pruners we recommend (they will last you a lifetime) but you can find other brands more cheaply elsewhere, such as Canadian Tire or Home Depot, in a pinch.
APPLICATION
Please read the above posting description in full. To complete the application process please submit the form below.
Application deadline: We are taking applications now, and will keep the application up until the positions are filled.
We will begin contacting applicants in early to mid to late March for the Spring Internship. If your application is selected we will contact you to schedule a trial day at the farm.