Khmer Maine is looking for teens from the Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander and other marginalized communities who are interested in developing their leadership skills ,networking, and exploring career opportunities in food security policy and advocacy, urban farming and agriculture, community gardening, nutrition, health care, and science. Teens who are interested in this opportunity will learn about topics that include: food equity and justice, service learning, healthy living awareness, food systems, career exploration, and cultural food systems.

Graduates of our summer Food & Farm Youth Leadership Institute will receive a certificate they can share with prospective employers, college scouts and admissions officers, and their friends and family. Graduates will also receive a $500 scholarship/stipend (maximum of 15). Parents will receive gas gift cards to compensate for transportation.

Graduates of the Institute will then have the opportunity to join a leadership council, travel to conferences, and become mentors and teen teachers for youth in elementary and middle schools.

Educators will guide construction of raised beds and will use the process of site selection for raised beds, weather patterns, sunlight, and soil health to teach teen leaders about the importance of place - tying into place justice and why it matters not only for growing plants, but growing humans, too.

Educators will guide teen students in planting, they will cover various topics such as crop selection, the life cycle of plants, soil health, seasonal changes and timing. The students will also be responsible for keeping track of their designated raised bed and scheduling regular check-ins to ensure that their plants are growing healthily. Students will tie what they learn to their responsibility to care about the environment.

Educators will educate teenage leaders about the extensive scope, profound intricacies, and diverse nature of the local food system, different kinds of food systems, and the movement away from industrialized food. Educators will guide teenage leaders on envisioning a future where human food systems coexist and create symbiotic relationships with the natural environment.

Educators will organize a field trip to Land in Common and Wild Mountain Cooperative to engage with organizations like Presente! Maine, Bomazeen Land Trust, and more, to learn about regenerative land practices that integrate housing, health, indigenous foodways, etc.

Teens will graduate from the Summer Leadership Insitute and receive certificates of completion and stipends at our Annual Dinner. Teen leaders will receive a certificate and a $500 scholarship/stipend upon completion of 3 out of 4 hands-on and experiential learning sessions.