Garden Coordinator Job in Washington State

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Garden Coordinator Job at EKONE RANCH – a place for children of all ages

GARDEN COORDINATOR

Job Purpose:  Provide leadership, coordination and labor to maintain and improve Ekone Ranch’s garden spaces and infrastructure, balancing the interests of food production and educational opportunities for summer campers and other guests, in collaboration with numerous volunteers.

Job Duties:

Food Production in ¼ Acre Ekone Garden

Use existing garden systems to implement a thriving production garden. No major reinventing the wheel for the 2016 season, just the daily and seasonal work of tending annual and perennial plants.  Prioritize production of abundant daily salads from mid-May thru October.

• Spring: create planting schedule and recordkeeping systems, prepare beds for planting, do soil tests and add amendments as needed, order and start seeds, tend and weed perennials, lay out irrigation lines, build some simple cold frames for earlier crops and transitioning plants from indoors to outdoors.
• Summer: continue succession planting of greens and fall crops, keep up with irrigation and weeding, maintain paths, ongoing harvests.
• Fall: plant cold frames with winter greens, harvest and storage of crops, cover crop and/or mulch beds before winter, make compost with field debris
• Ongoing: line out volunteers and residents for watering, maintenance, daily harvests, and special projects.

Education

Create space and opportunity in the garden for summer campers to have a meaningful experience with sustainable food production.

• Check in with program staff at least weekly, or at daily staff meetings when possible, about current garden project opportunities and needs. Support program staff in bringing campers or program participants into the garden.
• When time allows, facilitate garden activities with campers or program participants.
• Create physical spaces in the garden for gathering, teaching, resting, observing, etc.
• Train and utilize adult volunteers and interns in ways that are both educational and productive.

Market Garlic Venture

Take definitive steps towards establishing a small commercial garlic venture to help fund the garden and this position into the future.

• Tend and harvest our first garlic crop (1300 cloves planted Oct 2015)
• Prepare garlic for sale to camp families throughout the summer
• Develop and execute marketing plan for fall garlic sales, especially through Ekone’s existing network

General

• Weekly check-ins with the kitchen manager to assess priorities
• Development and planning for the extensive “wish list” of future garden plans
• Maintain garden tools
• Manage the garden budget
• Take leadership of the garden and work independently, while inviting and considering input from residents and guests

Qualifications

Our ideal garden coordinator job candidate has some combination of:

• Experience growing annual vegetables, preferably in a dry climate
• Permaculture training or expertise
• Strong “creative problem solving” and “fix it” skills
• Talent as an educator, especially with children ages 8-16
• Self-starter with proven ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Leadership experience, capable of directing a team of volunteers, children or adults
• Physical capacity to work in the hot sun and lift 50 pounds
• Ability to resist being overwhelmed in a role where there is always more to do than can ever be done, finding a balance between “going the extra mile” and guarding your own boundaries.
• Familiarity with the work of Ekone Ranch, ekone.org

All applications will be considered—if you have a combination of skills and talents that you think will be relevant to this position, please tell us about them!

Terms of Employment for the Garden Coordinator Job:

• Hours per week: 20 on average
• Compensation: $10 per hour, plus room and board
• Seasonal position: April 1 – October 31
• Housing consists of simple trailer with wood stove and shared bathroom/kitchen
• No additional benefits provided at this time
• Abide by Employee Handbook and Ekone Community policies and agreements

Application process for the Garden Coordinator Job:

• Direct any questions to kitchen manager Chris Woodcock by email, chris@ekone.org.
• Apply by email to chris@ekone.org. Please include a resume and a cover letter introducing yourself and specifically addressing your qualifications for this position.
• Phase two of the application process will include a review of Ekone’s community agreements, responding to a community questionnaire, and creating a description of two sample activities that you could do with children in the garden.
• Initial applications will be reviewed on March 1, but the position is open until filled.