Garden Education Program Specialist

At Growing Together, our mission is to improve the health of our communities by creating & maintaining school gardens as hubs for fresh food access, youth education, and mutual aid.

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Our work and therefore our team are both intersectional, including educators, landscapers, naturalists, farmers, business operators, & school parents. As a team we have an abundance of specialized expertise in hands-on outdoor education, garden & orchard stewardship, as well as large scale, community-centered mutual aid.

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How you’ll contribute: 

 

As the Garden Education Program Specialist you’ll be responsible for developing school gardens and garden education programs, through close collaboration with lead stakeholders at current and potential partner schools. You would be providing an array of services depending on the school’s needs and goals, which can include anything from designing and installing the garden, to training teachers to lead hands-on activities. Specific responsibilities for our Garden Specialist include: 

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• Leading consultations, site & program assessments, and cost estimates that make up successful program planning

• Prepare and leading hands-on garden/nutrition activities for groups of 12-15 students during after school hours (2:30 to 5:30 pm), four days per week.

• Coordinate and communicate effectively with an array of stakeholders, to gain the buy-in of potential allies and build long-term relationships. 

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What you’ll need to succeed: 
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• At least 3 years’ experience with full responsibility for operating garden based education program(s)

• Experience working collaboratively in school communities

• Some experience in developing a garden education program and a school garden from the beginning is ideal

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The nitty gritty:
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• This is a 80% FTE (32 hrs/wk) role which we are hoping to fill by early August. Please note that if you are interested in this role and would like to work more hours, please check out our other open listings. Many of our roles are modular and can be combined, separated, or mixed & matched to accommodate different scheduling or lifestyle needs. 

• Compensation for this role is $40 per hour, benefits negotiable

• Our organization works with schools across San Lorenzo, Oakland, and West Contra Costa Unified School Districts. This role would require traveling to a number of different schools across the East Bay. 

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Life at Growing Together:
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• We’re a team of do-ers. Almost every member of our team  is a program director responsible for the planning, management, and execution of their own program. This means that our team is very flat, and that every person is accountable for delivering a piece of our organization’s work. 

• We don’t believe that one size fits all. We place a lot of agency and trust in each person to steward our programs in ways that are relevant to & informed by the different schools, communities, and needs of their context. 

• Our work is integrated within school communities. Most of our time and attention is spent working with people outside of our organization. Whether that be students, teachers,  school administrators, parents, or farmers, a majority of our day to day time is spent building relationships with the communities that we are cultivating & participating in.

• We’re a network of community members, connected by values & mission. Given the varying schedules of our programs, our team relies on monthly in-person team meetings, as well as informal weekly check-ins with other team members to stay in sync and collaborate on cross team projects.

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If you think you'd be a good fit for our team and this role, please send us an email at hello@growingtogetherprojects.org with your contact info, your CV/resume, and the role that you would like to interview for.