Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon Portland Community College

Sustainability

Get Involved

Volunteer Hours

Thanks for your interest in the Learning Garden! We are excited to welcome volunteers back beginning in Spring Term 2022! 

  • Tuesdays 10am – 2pm
  • Wednesdays 10am – 2pm
  • Thursdays 10am – 2pm

Community Garden Beds

Community Gardening opportunities will resume beginning in Spring Term 2022! 

PCC’s Rock Creek Community Garden has 6 community garden raised beds for use by student resource centers and/or staff, faculty and students. These raised garden beds help foster a sense of ownership and stewardship within the Rock Creek Campus community. Academic teams, centers, and service departments collectively work in the Community Garden space and are integral members in the care of the garden.

Some of the benefits provided:

  • 8’ x 4’ raised garden bed
  • Personalized crop planning and garden advice 
  • Compost
  • Wood chips, cardboard and leaves for mulching
  • Garden tools, wheelbarrows and gloves for use
  • Frost free water source and hoses
  • Fun work parties and events in the garden
  • Washington County Master Gardener Education Garden workshops
  • Small library of gardening resources, posters and books on growing food
  • An environment that feeds the soul and promotes land stewardship

Student resource centers on the RC campus will be invited to adopt a bed on a first-come-first-served at the close of Winter Term. If any beds go unclaimed we will send an open invitation to all current PCC students, staff and faculty to acquire seasonal use of a community bed. Any groups and/or individuals awarded a bed must read through and adhere to the community garden guidelines, attend a mandatory garden orientation, commit to tend your bed the entire season and do a few hours of volunteer service in the garden. 

Contact us for more information about the community garden.

Rock Creek Campus Community Garden

Rock Creek Campus Community Garden

Error: The image above does not have Alt Text

Job opportunities in the Learning Garden

We are excited to welcome back in-person applicants for Winter Term 2022! 

The Learning Garden at Rock Creek is a lively and beautiful place to work! The Learning Garden thrives with care and attention, and you could be involved in seeding, planting, pruning, harvesting, and working with volunteers. 

The Learning Garden currently has the following work study job openings. Work study positions are available on the PCC Financial Aid website.

Learning Garden Assistant: In-Person Work Study Position
Paid Federal Work Study position or Unpaid Internship (work-for-food program)

The Learning Garden Assistant will mainly work in PCC Rock Creek’s 3.64 acre Learning Garden, a pesticide and herbicide-free food growing space, Greenhouse, and Hoophouse. Work in the garden may include raised bed preparation, planting, weeding, irrigation maintenance. The Learning Garden Assistant will eventually have the opportunity to interact with volunteers and students in the garden and demonstrate best practices. 

Qualifications:
  • Ability to dig, bend, kneel and lift heavy objects up to 50 pounds
  • Experience and/or interest in food growing and outdoor work
  • Self-motivated and self-directed individual
  • Demonstrated ability to think critically and problem solve as issues arise
  • Ability to work well with others in a group setting
Job duties may include:
  • General garden upkeep including field and raised bed preparation, seeding, planting, weeding, harvesting and delivery of food to on-campus market
  • Maintenance of garden tools
  • Irrigation upkeep
  • Assistance with educational and community events in the Learning Garden, including class projects, earthen oven baking events, Rock Creek’s annual Earth Week (April) and Harvest Fest (October), and more.
Federal work study details:

Must be taking 6 credits/quarter; $14/hour, ~119 hours allotted per quarter, can work no more than 8 hours/day and 34 hours/week. We are flexible and will help you to create a work schedule that meets your learning goals and our work needs.

To apply, send a single word or PDF document that includes a cover letter, and 1-2 page resume to Learning Garden Coordinator: Miriam Latzer. 

Garden Gossip

Keep up to date with news from the Learning Garden with our student-driven newsletter called “Garden Gossip”. Student created content takes time, please be patient with our random publication schedule! Sign up for Garden Gossip.

Take a Course

Many courses on PCC campuses work in conjunction with RC’s Learning Garden. Take a course to gain in-depth knowledge of gardening practices through Community Based Learning (CBL) or regular class curriculum. CBL students are eligible for the volunteer rewards program.

  • BI 163 Organic Gardening, Rock Creek
  • HE 264 Health, Food & the Environment
  • HOR 285 Permaculture Design, Rock Creek
  • English as a Second Language, (ESOL) 152, 254, Rock Creek

Giving

Donate

We welcome monetary donations to our PCC Foundation Learning Garden Growth Fund. Visit www.pcc.edu/give, select designation “Other” and type “Learning Garden Growth Fund” in the “Other designation” box.

Wish list
  • Rain gear including jackets and hats
  • Garden / Sun hats and sunscreen
  • An electric utility cart
  • Large Vermont Cart