Are you ready for a fun and rewarding job? Do you like to spend time outside working with plants and people? Do you have experience teaching K to 6th grade students?
If you answered yes to those questions, you may be a perfect fit for our Garden Educator full time position. Explore Ecology Garden Educators (GE) are an integral part of the garden experience for students, teachers and the school community. The GE connects students to their food, their environment and their community through hands on garden and environmental education lessons, while modeling responsibility, organization and teamwork. GEs facilitate the growth of the garden community and lead school garden based instruction and garden maintenance.
Explore Ecology School Garden Program
Garden Educator Job Description
An Explore Ecology School Garden Educator’s primary role is to engage and educate students while maintaining the school’s garden and outdoor classroom. Main duties include: coordinating with teachers, planning and teaching lessons in outdoor classrooms to K-8th grade students, planting, harvesting and maintaining organic garden space. The School Garden Educator reports to their assigned Garden Coordinator.
Pay and Benefits
Starting Pay: 16.50 per hour
Full Time Employees: 30-40 hours per week
Health Benefits include Medical, Dental, Vision and Life Insurance
2 weeks per year of paid vacation
9 days per year of sick time off
9 Paid Holidays per year
Role and Responsibilities
Lead weekly garden education lessons in your school’s organic garden for K-8th grade students
Maintain and submit weekly reporting
Use a portion of your weekly assigned hours to maintain your school garden(s), growing a diverse mix of seasonal crops and perennials
Continue to build your school’s connection to the garden through garden work parties or campus beautification days, outreach to the PTA or Wellness Committees, recruiting and managing community volunteers to help with the garden, and by distributing produce harvested in the garden to the school community
Communicate regularly with your Garden Coordinator, attend monthly and/or weekly staff meetings focused on team building, staff development, and training
Work Environment
Outdoors and on a school campus
Standing, bending, and stooping, for extended periods of time (up to 8 hours)
Extensive contact with the public and children
Unassisted heavy lifting (up to 40 lbs.)
Scheduling
Shift Work Exclusively.
Full Time: 30-40 hours per week / 5 shifts
Part Time: approximately 15-25 hours per week / 3 shifts
Must be able to work occasional evenings and weekends (Saturday and/or Sunday), as scheduled.
Additional Qualifications and Education Requirements
Degree in relevant subject including but not limited to Environmental Education, Elementary Education, Horticulture, Botany
Experience working with groups of Elementary aged students
Must pass LiveScan (fingerprint background check) and TB test
Spanish Speakers are encouraged to apply
Preferred Skills and Characteristics
A passion to cultivate children’s connection to nature, healthy food, and culture through hands-on garden-based education
Experience teaching and working with elementary-age students
Experience with growing produce
Ability to work independently, setting own schedule, while maintaining clear communication with assigned Garden Coordinator
Strong organizational skills
Information about Explore Ecology
Explore Ecology is a Santa Barbara based non-profit organization that educates over 38,000 children a year, inspiring them to engage with the natural world, think critically, and experience the value of environmental stewardship. Explore Ecology programs include the Art From Scrap Creative ReUse Store and Gallery, Environmental Education, Watershed Resource Center, and School Gardens.
Explore Ecology actively promotes an environment of respect, diversity, equity, and inclusion. We support all employees regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, sex, age, race, ethnic origin, color, religion, national origin, creed, marital status, disabled veteran status, or the presence of any sensory, mental, and/or physical disability that does not inhibit the performance of the specific core tasks of this position.
A full job description can be found at: https://exploreecology.org/get-involved/job-listings/
Leave a Response