Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems


The Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems is a center within the Division of Social Sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz. The mission of CASFS is to research, develop, and advance sustainable food and agricultural systems that are environmentally sound, economically viable, socially responsible, nonexploitative, and that serve as a foundation for future generations. The Center's history dates back to 1967, when English master gardener Alan Chadwick was hired to create a Student Garden Project on the fledgling UC Santa Cruz campus.
CASFS manages the 3-acre Alan Chadwick Garden and a 30-acre farm located at the base of the UCSC campus. The Center is well-known for its Apprenticeship in Ecological Horticulture program which provides training in the concepts and practices of organic gardening and small-scale farming. Other programs offered by the Center include undergraduate internships, on-farm research, farm tours, gardening workshops, and programs for K-12 students.