Virginia Extension Urban Ag Cert: 12-Wk Permaculture Boost

Virginia Cooperative Extension's Urban Agriculture Certificate Program is a 12-week Saturday course from March 7 to June 27, 2026, running 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., limited to 30 face-to-face participants for in-class and hands-on experiential learning. Aimed at increasing competence and marketability for careers in urban agriculture, it covers essential topics including General Principles of Urban Agriculture, Basic Botany, Physiology, and Environmental Effects of Plant Growth, Crop Pest and Disease Management, Business Principles of Agriculture, Permaculture, Vegetable and Small Fruit Production, Urban Soils, Brownfields and Safe Gardening Practices, Greenhouse Production including Aquaponics and Hydroponics, and Plant Propagation and Nursery Management. This program delivers specific, actionable content tailored to urban environments, such as safe gardening on brownfields, permaculture design for limited spaces, and innovative systems like aquaponics for year-round production. Participants learn practical techniques for soil remediation, pest control without synthetics, propagation methods for high-yield urban crops, and business strategies for selling produce, fostering regenerative living through resilient, self-sufficient gardening. The hands-on sessions ensure practitioners can immediately apply knowledge, such as installing hydroponic setups or managing urban soils contaminated by prior industrial use, making it a high-value resource for building regenerative urban food systems with measurable skills in sustainability and productivity.