08/20/2026
And that’s a wrap on our 2026 Summer Internship season at Urban Growers Collective!
Over 10 transformative weeks, this incredible cohort dove head and heart first into what it truly means to be an urban farmer in Chicago. Through heat, air quality emergencies, and even a couple of nearby tornadoes, they brought unmatched resilience, heart, and dedication to our fields.
At its core, meaningful mentorship is a two-way street. Our team members serve not just as staff, but as teachers—stewards of land-based knowledge who generously pass down years of practical skill. Witnessing this intergenerational wisdom transfer has heartened us all. When seasoned leaders share their experience and emerging leaders receive it with deep respect and fresh energy, the entire organization grows stronger.
Urban agriculture requires a unique balance: mastering raw, hands-on technical work while remaining deeply devoted to service. True community impact happens when dirtying your hands in the soil directly aligns with feeding and empowering local neighborhoods.
Our interns embodied this balance through project-based learning that directly optimized our daily operations and widened our mission’s reach.
What an awesome cap to the season to hear their final presentations spanning: Wholesale projections & revenue modeling 🌾 Succession planting schedules 📋 GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) training 🤝 Neighborhood community engagement 🎵 Even original music inspired by their time on the farms!
To our 2026 intern cohort: thank you for your thoughtful contributions, your willingness to learn, and the joy you brought to our farms. You have left our operations sharper and our community richer.
The future of sustainable agriculture is undeniably bright.
