Certificate in Applied Agroecology

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Certificate in Applied Agroecology from the Multinational Exchange for Sustainable Agriculture. Check out the 2017 Program Today!

The Multinational Exchange for Sustainable Agriculture (MESA) is proud to announce the first of its kind Certificate in Applied Agroecology Program (CAAP), completely online! Unlike any other online platform in the world, our Certificate in Applied Agroecology is open-sourced, community based, and developed with contributions and resources from farmers, scientists, and community field experts, including Miguel Altieri, Professor of Agroecology at UC Berkeley, Laura Murray from California Certified Organic Farmers, and Steve Gliessman, Professor of Agroecology at UC Santa Cruz. This course will build both your technical knowledge and your theoretical framework of the socio-political aspects of farming.

The Certificate in Applied Agroecology course is offered three times a year. To see program details and calendar, please visit: https://learn.mesaprogram.org/CAAP/

Certificate in Applied Agroecology Program Details:

About the course: MESA’s Applied Agroecology course fosters co-learning networks via a dynamic educational platform. Our virtual classroom combines the theoretical with the practical to promote comprehension, synthesis, and sharing of agroecological practices through on-farm activities and projects. This course is especially geared toward beginning farmers and students seeking to connect with fellow learners, contextualize daily farm activities, and gain a deeper appreciation for agroecological practices. While the content is free, for a sliding scale payment learners will also receive personalized instructor feedback on assignments and earn a Certificate in Applied Agroecology to accentuate and complement experiential training.

What you will learn: This course combines academic, scientific, socio-political and ancestral knowledge in 7 lessons, giving learners a holistic understanding and application of agroecology. To support multiple learning styles, the material is presented in video, audio, visuals and readings. This self-directed, self-paced course enables learners to develop their own perspective, and directly apply theoretical knowledge through interactive on-farm activities.

This interactive presentation of ancestral practices, scientific research, historical data and individual case studies will enable learners to analyze and ultimately transform their own food and farming systems.

How Learning will Happen in the Certificate in Applied Agroecology Program:

• Farm-based Learning Activities
• At the end of each lesson, you’ll complete an on-farm activity that uses the knowledge gained during the last lesson. This allows you to reflect, analyze, and apply the principles and practices you’ve learned during the last lesson, and understand how the different concepts relate to your farm, food system and/ or culture.
• The course instructor will provide individualized feedback for Certificate-track enrollees to deepen learning on various subjects.
• Self-assessments
• In order to measure learning outcomes, you will assess your knowledge of a particular subject area at the beginning and end of each lesson. This develops self-directed learners, who are critically analyzing the materials, as well as your own biases, critical thinking and process of learning.
• Farm Maps
• Learners will create a multilayered map of their farm, whether it be a piece of land they have worked on, are currently on or hope to one day work on. Creating maps can help you apply your knowledge, and understand the relationships between all of the factors of your agroecosystem.
• Forums
• At the end of each module, you’ll participate in a forum, either responding to or posing your own questions. Through these forums, learners from all over the world can compare ideas, share techniques, and co-create new knowledge.
• Live Chats & Webinars
• MESA’s powerful social learning network includes live chats where you can chat live with each other and Instructors.

What You Need to Succeed
A computer & internet connection, a farm or an open space suitable for farming (a park will do!), and an active imagination!

Learn more about the Certificate in Applied Agroecology by visiting: https://learn.mesaprogram.org/CAAP/
Contact Katie at Katie@mesaprogram.org for more details or with questions