This Valentine's Day, buy your favorite a bouquet, and support student internships and jobs programs at Muir Ranch
You’ve heard it before – because it’s true – doing good feels good! This Valentine’s Day, if you’re planning to buy a special someone flowers, we encourage you to ‘do good’ at the same time by purchasing your bouquet from Muir Ranch.
Your purchase is 50% tax deductible, and proceeds benefit the 6 year-old working farm which serves as a living classroom, teen jobs program, small business laboratory, weekly CSA service and nursery non-profit.
We recently visited the ranch to get a sneak peek at their Valentine’s Day bouquets, and to see first hand what happens on the ranch. Here’s what we learned!
Weekly CSA + the Best of the Farm Bouquet
Muir Ranch grows a wide variety of seasonal fruits, vegetables and flowers available to customers via their CSA service. Through classwork and paid jobs + internships, students get hands on experience caring for the land, planting seeds, tending to growing plants, harvesting, packing and facilitating the CSA.
Skills learned on the ranch can be translated to future jobs as farm managers, irrigation technicians, florists and customer service managers.
The local community benefits with access to fresh, local, organic produce and flowers at a cost that is 50% tax deductible.
The purchase of a Valentine’s bouquet, like this beautiful pairing of white David Austin roses, lavender, eucalyptus and edible greens will help support the student jobs program.
Shaping Futures + the Sunflower Field Bouquet
Whether they are made to spend time on the ranch, or elect to do so on their own, all students seem to have a positive reaction to their time spent outdoors and their exposure to growing fruits and vegetables. For some it provides direction for their future careers in culinary studies, horticulture, and management just to name a few.
One recent graduate, Manny, is now the ranch’s floral designer, working with clients to design arrangements for weddings and other special events part-time.
Purchasing a bouquet, like this vibrant bundle of gorgeous Sunflowers with an assortment of small flowers, fragrant fresh herbs and stunning artichoke leaves will help support paid jobs and internships like Manny’s.
A Mission to Give Back + David Austin Garden Roses
Giving back to the community is an important part of the culture and lessons taught at Muir Ranch. Once a month students invite community members and other visitors to stop by the ranch and take home seeds and plugs.
These events are called Plug Mobs, and are part of the school’s mission as a nursery non-profit to spread the culture of urban gardening.
This stunning bouquet is overflowing with one dozen of the commercially unavailable and super fragrant David Austin roses, assorted Protea and eucalyptus.
The sale of Valentine’s Day bouquets supports the student jobs program, and in turn enables the ranch to continue supporting the growth of urban gardens throughout LA.
We left Muir Ranch with an energy that can only come from a morning away from the computer, internet and social media, spent outside in the sunshine with flowers in our hands and on our heads, and following a farmer around as he gathers a special bouquet just for you. Our smiles lasted all day, and everything just seemed to be right.
We also left the ranch with a determination to support this wonderful team of volunteers and students. There is more to share from Muir Ranch, and more work that we can do to support their efforts. We’ll be sure to invite you in, and to share their stories here.
For now, we hope you’ll join us in purchasing a Valentine’s Day bouquet to support the student jobs program.
xo,
Becca, Melissa + Sarah
