PSU Programming

LGL partners with Portland State University to offer undergraduate and graduate students a variety of opportunities in the garden each term.

Internship offerings:

• Learning Gardens Lab Internship (ELP 409/509): An internship at LGL provides students with hands-on experience in community-based sustainability education and urban agroecology while exploring how knowledge from every discipline can come together to support resilient, thriving ecosystems. Depending on interests and academic goals, interns may contribute to projects in regenerative food production, habitat creation, ecological restoration and landscape design, garden education, community engagement and well-being, and so much more. Through observation, participation, and reflection, the internship helps students develop eco-literacy skills while exploring the relationships between people, plants, soil, wildlife, and place, cultivating critical perspectives that support both personal growth and collective resilience.
  • 1-2 credit options, more credits by arrangement. One credit is equivalent to approximately 30 hours of work over the course of the 10-week term (3 hours per week w/flexible scheduling). Questions? Email the LGL internship coordinator, Mariya Block at mar22@pdx.edu.

Spring 2025 Senior Capstone offerings:

• Learning Gardens, Community Engagement, & Sustainability (UNST 421) : In this Capstone we will explore personal connection to our environment, food, and the land while engaging systems thinking, ecological design concepts, and alternative and critical perspectives on sustainability. This course focuses on community building, group discussion, personal reflection, and hands-on garden stewardship. Questions? Email shevawn@pdx.edu
• Restorative Gardening, Mindfulness, and Nature Connection (UNST 421): This capstone centers around the Mindfulness Sanctuary at LGL where students will engage in garden experiences to promote a sense of peace, belonging and connection with the living world. Throughout the term, students will explore regenerative land stewardship topics through readings, discussion and hands-on activities. Students will also explore mindfulness practices as a community during class and through a “nature connection sit spot” at home. Finally, in partnership with LGL, students will design a hands-on “peace-making” project using natural cycles and patterns in the Mindfulness Sanctuary. Questions? Email megk@pdx.edu.
• Farm Education for Youth (UNST 421): This course will combine classroom learning with community-based learning at a local farm and garden site. Our classroom learning will focus on various aspects of our national food system through an exploration of the Farm Bill. When we are not in the classroom, we will partner with the Learning Gardens Laboratory to provide garden-based field trips for elementary age youth focused on food, farming, and the land. Questions? Email celine@pdx.edu 

Read about Education, K-8 Programming, Professional Development, & Community Offerings