Novella Carpenter

Novella Carpenter serves as an Adjunct Professor and Part-Time Faculty member at the University of San Francisco, with additional affiliation as Program Director for Urban Agriculture Education at UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism.

She completed her education at UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism under renowned author Michael Pollan, focusing on practical agricultural journalism.

Her research centers on Urban Agriculture and Sustainable Farming, demonstrated through GhostTown Farm in Oakland—a 1/10 acre homestead featuring orchards, honey bees, poultry, and intensive vegetable production. This hands-on work bridges academic theory with real-world food sovereignty initiatives, emphasizing hyperlocal resource cycling and community-scale food resilience.

She has authored foundational texts including Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer and The Essential Urban Farmer, documenting urban homesteading methodologies and policy frameworks.

GhostTown Farm operates as both a living laboratory and educational model, showcasing integrated systems for soil regeneration, pollinator habitats, and small-animal husbandry within dense urban environments.