Get Up! Alum

Graduated: 2015

Sam runs the 4,000 square foot garden right behind center field at the San Francisco Giant’s AT&T Park. “Not only did Get Up! help me grow into the confident gardener I am today, but i developed the teaching techniques I needed to step into my current role as Garden Manager.” Using the composting skills he learned, Sam has now integrated a worm composting system to use as a teaching tool in addition to reducing waste. Considered groundbreaking, this garden is the first of its kind at a Major League Ballpark!

Graduated: 2016

“As a garden educator who also educates other garden educators, the Garden for the Environment has provided an integral foundation for the work I do with youth and adults.” Danny took her experience from Get Up!, and her training at GFE through her work at Education Outside, and brought to her her work leading thousands of students through field trips each year. She says at GFE, “I continually learn about experiential and place-based garden practices that I am constantly passing along to my students and colleagues. The most important thing I've learned at GFE is that it's easier and more fun to learn in a garden while actually getting your hands dirty!” We agree!

Graduated: 2010

Eli Zigas is the Food and Agriculture Policy Director at SPUR. Eli manages SPUR’s work on urban agriculture, regional foodshed planning and creating a vibrant, accessible food system in the Bay Area. He is an active member of the San Francisco Urban Agriculture Alliance and Coordinator for the Clipper Community Garden. "There is no better way to quickly learn about what is going on in the world of food and farming in San Francisco than the Get Up! program.  And, you'll learn hands on gardening skills from some of the best teachers you'll ever meet."

Graduated: 2005

Rachel Pringle is Chief Strategy Officer at Education Outside, an organization dedicated to connecting urban students in San Francisco to the natural world through the development and use of green schoolyards. Rachel directs Education Outside’s corps member program which operates at 37 San Francisco Unified School District schools. Prior to joining Education Outside, Rachel pursued the prefect mix of outdoor and agricultural education through teaching in a public school garden for four years. She is the co-author of How to Grow a School Garden: A Complete Guide for Parents and Teachers, from Timber Press. 

Graduated: 2002

"The Get Up! program sparked in me a passion for food production and sustainable agriculture." In 2005, Jason enrolled in the farming apprenticeship at the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems at UC-Santa Cruz, an experience he says was guided by his participation in Get Up! That same year he co-founded Alemany Farm, San Francisco's largest food production site. Now Jason is an editor at Sierra Magazine and author of the book Satellites in the High Country.

Graduated: 2008

"When I decided to do the Get Up! program, I was working full time in a dark, crowded busy office in the basement of a downtown SF high rise. It was meaningful work at times, but I couldn't stop daydreaming about digging my hands in the dirt with the sun on my face."  With Michael Pollan as a grad school advisor, Ariana realized she had to do more than just tell stories about farmers and gardeners - she had to become one! "The Get Up program provided me the inspiration and guidance I needed to reach beyond the cubicle and figure out how to integrate my passions for growing plants and telling stories." Since Get Up!, Ariana completed the Farm and Garden Apprenticeship Program at UC Santa Cruz, moved up to Sonoma County to start Chica Bloom Farm, a small sustainable flower farm (along with farm partner Daniele Allion), and is forging ahead with a food and agricultural-focused journalism career.