Meet our 2026 Full-Season Apprentices
Nearly four months into the season, the 2026 EarthDance Full Season Farm Apprentices have moved well beyond seed trays and spring planting. Their crops are growing in the first-ever apprentice microfarm plots, where each apprentice is learning how to manage a small production area from start to finish. Within the daily rhythms of farm life, Patrick Bridges, Gabby Levine, and Anna Warren are developing practical farming skills, exploring food justice in action, and finding their place in the next generation of growers.
Read on to learn more about each of them.
After an inspiring summer apprenticeship last year, Patrick Bridges has returned to the farm for a full season apprenticeship. Patrick is a St. Louis native, a graduate of the Ferguson-Florissant School District and has a degree in business management From Jackson State University of Jackson, Mississippi. He recently began his first semester of grad school at Mizzou, where he is majoring in construction management.
“I was a summer apprentice in 2025. And when I left, I was kind of sad, I had just got my foot in the door of farming, it felt great. I wasn’t sure what path I would take next. When I found out that EarthDance was hiring again for full season apprentices, I knew I had to apply for it. Since coming back, it’s been great to be back in the soil. I’m doing what I’m called for, to be a farmer.”
For Patrick, the meaning behind his day-to-day work has taken on greater meaning:
“Last summer I was here, there was another apprentice who was dedicated to her religion, Islam. She wore her hijab every day. And I found that inspiring.
In scripture, God tells his people to wear their garments, their fringes, and borders of blue on their end of their garments, to remember who they are and that they have a duty of service to God. So I wear my fringes to remind me that I have a purpose here in life. Every day I’m on the farm, I wear them to remember why I’m doing it, you know, to give back to people, to give back to the community, to live in purpose, and to serve God. “
Gabby Levine is a first-time EarthDancer. She fell head over heels for farming during a transformative farm fellowship in rural Connecticut called Adamah (Hebrew transliteration of Earth). Gabby’s role as an EarthDance Farm & Orchard Apprentice allows her to spend time both on the farm and in the orchard, where she is excited to gain experience in different forms of growing food, annual veggie production and agroforestry. Gabby grew up in St. Louis.
“I have never felt more connected to land, myself, or my community than I did working at Adamah. After just 3 months, I knew I was meant to explore this thread; I believe farming connects me to my life’s purpose.
“In 2024, I was visiting for Mother’s Day and there was an orientation tour happening the weekend I was in town. I thought it was the perfect opportunity to come and check out EarthDance. I completely fell in love with this place. Everyone was so kind and welcoming and joyful. I could tell this was a happy and healthy farm, for all the beings on the farm. So, after almost two years of doing seasonal work and traveling, I was ready to come back and start to work on my dreams here in my hometown. EarthDance was always a part of the dream and what I hoped to be involved with here.
“Farming in a community like EarthDance is super important to me. Working with people who understand farming as a liberatory practice and are committed to food justice is important to me. This apprenticeship is truly everything I was looking for.”
Anna Warren returns to EarthDance 5 years after her summer apprenticeship in 2021. Anna graduated with an Environmental Studies degree at Macalester College in 2025. While at school, she worked 2 summers at an organic farm in northwestern Wisconsin.
“I was a summer apprentice at EarthDance 5 years ago—I had just graduated high school and already had an idea that I wanted to go into farming. I would ask myself, ‘If money were no object, what would you want to do?’ I’ve always really liked being outside, and I really love food. So farming was kind of that really cool intersection between those two things, especially sustainable farming.
“I went to college, did an internship at a beautiful farm in western Wisconsin in 2024 and 2025, and I came back to EarthDance because I still have so much to learn. I want to reinforce those fundamentals while staying open to new ideas.
“We’re always experimenting at EarthDance—whether it’s with efficiency in the field, soil health, or community engagement—it’s helped us grow stronger as a team. Now more than ever I’m equipped to take on the challenge of farming, and at the same time, I feel empowered to experiment. That’s made me a better learner.
“The vibes have been great. I love what we do every day.” From inside jokes about veggies to the hard work of trellising cucumbers, the apprentices have found ways to lighten up hot summer days.
This year, apprentices get walkie talkies, and more independence in the field. There’s also sit-down, classroom-style learning where apprentices drill down into the technical aspects of farming, including efficiency practices, crop planning, and more heartfelt conversations about why farming is important to them. Some of their top reasons, written on our conference room chalkboard, are daily reminders of purpose: “To feed my family & community.” “Food sovereignty.” “To feed the planet.”
Each apprentice’s microfarm plot is 95 feet of bed space to grow whatever they’d like, on their own, to use however they’d like. We’ll let the apprentices take it from here to tell you about what they’re growing!
Patrick – I’ve divided my row between carrots, onions, then lunchbox peppers, and sugar baby watermelons, and gave roughly 25 feet of growing space to each crop. I chose carrots because they’re underground crops. I don’t really have to constantly harvest it, you know, over and over again. And I feel like they’re easy on my back.
I chose onions for similar reasons because they’re easier to harvest and they’re underground crops, a little easier to manage. But I’ve never grown onions myself, so I guess I’ll figure it out on the way!
Peppers can grow easily with my other crops, and at the Ferguson Farmers Market last summer, a lot of the customers were always excited about the lunchbox peppers. So why not choose it and figure out how to grow it?
I’m growing sugar baby watermelons, which I find exciting because it’s a part of my fast. I go on fast for days at a time while drinking watermelon juice, it kind of replenishes and reboosts my system. And it’s good for immune health.
I know people of the community probably enjoy watermelon as well. So I chose it for them too.
Gabby – I was inspired by some of the farming practices that we’re learning about in our classes including intercropping, relay planting, and companion planting; with the goal of creating a diverse ecosystem so that all the life in my bed is working together to support each other.
I’ve also become quite obsessed with fermentation since my time at Adamah. During my time there, I read Sandor Katz’s book Fermentation as Metaphor where he talked about the philosophical teachings of fermentation and learned about some of my cultural connections to fermented and pickled food.
As I’ve continued my journey in farming, I’ve learned more about the microbial life of the soil; about the importance of bacteria and fungi for growing food and for the health of our soil. I’ve learned about the connections between the microbial health of the soil and the microbial health of our digestive system. So, I was inspired to focus on fermentation for my bed. I’ll be growing cabbage and carrots for sauerkraut.
Although different from fermentation, I’ll be growing and pickling cucumbers, peppers, and beets. I’ll also be adding borage, dill, and marigolds as companion crops in my bed. I’m excited to try and make some value-added products and learn about this aspect of post-harvest processing. And to share on the importance and teachings of the microorganisms; without whom none of our work as farmers would be possible.
Anna – I’m growing the three sisters: corn, beans, and squash. Three sisters has this kind of symbiotic relationship between three crops. The corn is a trellis for the beans, the beans grow up on it. Plus, they’re legumes so they fix nitrogen which is a helpful nutrient for the plants. The squash provides this nice ground cover and some protection because it’s spiky!
We’re thrilled to be in the work with this new group of apprentices! Time and again, we hear from our apprentices that this 10-month program is a transformative journey for individuals eager to reconnect with the land, learn sustainable farming practices, and contribute to their local community. Paid learning programs like EarthDance’s help create pathways for new faces in our local food movement—together, we are growing a brighter, stronger future for organic farmers and local food systems everywhere.
The EarthDance Apprenticeship Program is led by Jess Coffin, EarthDance Program Manager and Orchard Steward, and Jena Hood, EarthDance Director of Agriculture).
