The Experience

A Year in the life of a fellow

Before jumping into 10 months of skill building and rooting into their urban place, the fellows launch their learning with an experience outside of the city of Kingston in the pastoral fields and mountains of Hawthorne Valley. During this orientation to self, each other, and the region, fellows will get to know the folks they’ll be spending a year with and begin to develop the foundation that the coming months will build on.

The orientation at Hawthorne Valley leads back with a reorientation to the city of Kingston at our Homeroom at the Greenhouse. This is homebase! Fellows will get cozy here, making community meals, hosting Friends and Family Events, developing projects, and more.

In the first trimester of the program, titled KNOW/SELF, fellows are introduced to IDEAs and SKILLs. From September to November, fellows plug into a circuit of learning around Kingston that takes them to many practitioners, leaders, educators, and changemakers around the city. Fellows will take classes in whole systems design, regenerative urban farming, financial literacy, and more.

Following KNOW/SELF, fellows will move into the LOVE/COMMUNITY trimester. During this time, fellows will digest everything that was introduced in the first trimester and apply that knowledge critically in a research project of their place that uplifts discoveries and needs. December to February will be active with workshops and creative making, moving theory into embodied practice. Imagination will ignite as introductions to community partners develop into relationships and build into opportunities that lead into the final trimester and beyond Place Corps. Fellows will present their Place Projects at an integrative retreat at Lifebridge Sanctuary and project planning residency. During this residency, fellows will develop practicum service projects.

From March to May, all of the work accomplished in the previous months culminates in a return to the community of Kingston. In the SERVE trimester, fellows identify and engage in service projects. Each service project uplifts fellows’ individual interests and values while meeting the needs of the community. As fellows prepare to graduate, they develop what Place Corps calls a portfolio of purpose with next steps for post-fellowship with support from the Place Corps team. By graduation, each fellow will have an actionable plan that serves to support the transition and translation of all that was learned and gained during their time together at Place Corps into sustainable livelihoods, rooted within themselves no matter where they land.

The fellowship year is one full of bike riding, food making, plant growing, joy creating, community building, skill developing, designing, practicing, dancing, reading and researching, deep breathing and stretching, questioning and finding answers that lead to more questions that lead to new professional pathways that lead to developing sustainable livelihoods for all. In other words, it’s a year full of adventure and opportunity. Will you join the learning?

Hudson Valley Excursions

The Hudson Valley and the Catskills are our living classroom. We explore the urban city, local farms working in regenerative practices, intentional communities, innovative enterprises in local towns, sculpture parks and art museums as well as waterfalls, hikes, and trips to river fronts. Discover the Hudson Valley with Place Corps!

Some of the local innovative enterprises and organizations we may visit include…

Good Work Institute
Wild Earth
Hudson Hemp
Hawthorne Valley
Bard College
Soul Fire Farm
Forge Project
Freedom Farm
The Lumberyard
Hudson River

Kingston YMCA Farm Project
Hudson Valley Farm Hub
Omega Institute
Deer Creek
Kingston Land Trust
Made x Hudson
Schumacher Center
Mass MoCA
Basilica Hudson
Appalachian Trail
Churchtown Dairy
Olana

Place Corps’ Homeroom is located in the Good Work Institute’s Greenhouse in Midtown Kingston! Fellows will have access to the shared facilities, including an incredible library with a beautiful collection of books and a shared kitchen where the fellows will prepare community lunches.

The Place Corps’ homeroom presents an exciting opportunity to learn and work in a professional shared environment.