CREA Fall Internships Expand to 5 Partners

This fall, our Coalition for Regenerative Ecologies and Agriculture (CREA) Internship Program, a partnership with the University of Texas at San Antonio and Alamo Colleges St. Philip’s College, is growing in every sense of the word. This year, we have expanded the fully paid internship program to include three new partner sites, giving students even more ways to connect classroom learning with hands-on regenerative work. Altogether, fifteen students are now spread across five incredible partners: San Antonio Food Bank, Gardopia Gardens, Alianza Raíces Vivas, The Wild Farm, and San Antonio Colleges’ William R. Sinkin EcoCentro.

Each of these partners brings a different flavor of land stewardship to the table. At San Antonio Food Bank, interns step into one of the largest and most impactful food networks in the region. Here, they experience the logistics, partnerships, and land-based work that go into feeding thousands of families every day. Students learn how regenerative agriculture fits into a larger system that addresses hunger, soil health, and community resilience all at once. By seeing firsthand how the Food Bank grows, processes, and distributes fresh produce, interns gain a deeper appreciation for how local food systems can scale while staying grounded in service.

At Gardopia Gardens, students get their hands in the soil while learning how small urban plots can build food security and neighborhood pride. This season, they will also help with Gardopia’s ambitious goal of planting up to 1,000 trees throughout the community. That effort is part of Gardopia’s mission to improve environmental and human health through education, gardening, and tree planting. Interns there will work side-by-side with community members to grow food, teach youth, and see how a small garden can ripple out to make a lasting difference.

Out in Waelder, Alianza Raíces Vivas offers a totally different kind of learning environment. It is a working ranch where interns experience regenerative grazing, soil rebuilding, and holistic land management come to life. Here, students learn about rotational grazing, water infiltration, and native grass restoration. They also see how traditional knowledge and modern regenerative science can complement one another to heal land and community. Raices Vivas' work demonstrates that ranching and regeneration can go hand in hand when guided by respect for the land and its natural cycles.

At The Wild Farm, interns experience the pace and precision of a market-scale vegetable operation where every row tells a story about timing, soil health, and creativity. They see how efficiency and ecology meet in daily operations, from planting and harvesting to market logistics and soil care. For many, it is their first close-up look at what it takes to sustain a small business rooted in land stewardship.

Meanwhile, EcoCentro serves as both classroom and living lab for sustainable design right in the heart of San Antonio. This semester, students are helping develop new soil and build out a working farm on the San Antonio College campus. They are shaping garden beds, establishing irrigation systems, and planting the first crops that will anchor the space for future classes. Their work will leave a lasting foundation for hands-on learning and community engagement for years to come.

Our students this semester come from all kinds of backgrounds such as environmental science, business, and literature, but what they share is curiosity. They are learning that regenerative agriculture is not just a field of study. It is a living system that ties together ecology, community, and culture. For some, this is their first time planting a seed. For others, it is a chance to deepen their understanding of the food systems they have been studying in class.

The goal of the CREA Internship Program is simple, to help students experience what it really means to grow something in their community, whether that is vegetables, confidence, or a sense of purpose. These placements are not just about labor in the field. They are about building relationships, noticing patterns, and understanding the web of people and processes that make local food systems thrive. This relationship also provides much-needed support to our partners, who benefit from the help on both ends of the growing season in spring and fall.

Best of all, these internships are 100 percent paid, ensuring that neither students nor partners are out of pocket. Each six-week internship is funded through the USDA Hispanic-Serving Institutions grant for the Coalition for Regenerative Ecologies and Agriculture Program. It is a true exchange of learning rooted in community, grounded in practice, and grown with care.