Name: Cece Albright
Class Year: 2028
Major: Environmental Studies
Minor: Biology

Internship Organization: Garten Coop Freiburg
Internship Title: Gardener
Location: Freiburg, Germany

What’s happening at your internship? We would love to hear what kind of work you are doing!

At the Garten Coop, I am a member of the Anbau (farming) team! Our farm property in Tunsel, which is a community-supported agricultural initiative, grows over 70 varieties of local vegetables using organic and sustainable practices. We work on our farm Tuesdays – Thursdays from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm, and do everything from planting, weeding, and pruning to harvesting for the weekly share of vegetables delivered to families across Freiburg. Every week, over 300 shares of vegetables are harvested at the farm and then transported using an electric van to our transportation hub in the sustainable city district of Vauban.

From there, members can volunteer to bike the vegetable crates out to our many distribution points, where families will then pick up their weekly share. The Garten Coop is a food justice initiative centered around collective knowledge and ownership. I have already built so many deep and meaningful relationships both with other members of the farming team and with community members.

Why did you apply for this internship?

I applied for this internship because I am incredibly interested in food justice and the community-supported agriculture (CSA) model. As an environmental studies student, I believe that food lies at the nexus of so many important social justice issues, political, and economic struggles. When I applied for this internship, I was very intrigued by the combination of physical labor with organizational and community-based labor with regards to securing collective land for the farm and ensuring equitable access to our services across the city.

What has been your favorite part of this internship?

My favorite part of this internship has been planning the Garten Coop’s presence at the local Agrikultur Festival in mid-July, which was a celebration of all of the local food initiatives and had a wide variety of rich cultural events, informational sessions, food, and children’s activities. The Garten Coop had a large tent at the festival with foods from our farm, informational presentations about our collaboration with land solidarity organization Ackersyndikat, and interactive activities for children, which I helped coordinate.

We had a painting table with Earth paints we made from different colored soils on our farm, and postcards designed by a local artist to color in. We also harvested wildflowers from the farm property and set up a bouquet-making station. Overall, it was an incredible experience where I got to witness so many beautiful connections being made between community members and our team.

Can you talk about the skills you are learning and why they are important to you?

I am developing physical farming skills first and foremost, with new ecological knowledge gained on specific crops and practices in small-scale organic vegetable farming. I have found so much value and dignity in physical labor, especially knowing that the food is going to so many community members throughout the city and is helping in providing organic alternatives to local families. It has been an incredible experience to have knowledge from my coworkers and role models on the farming team be passed down through repetition, constructive feedback, and immense attention to detail.

I have developed conversational skills through interacting with my coworkers and members of the Coop who visit the farm during the week, as well as some elementary German language skills. In terms of the intellectual and logistical side, I’ve gained incredible organizational and advocacy skills through the opportunity to observe and assist the planning team for the Agrikultur festival, which I feel have better prepared me for community organizing within Philadelphia and my hometown.