Eco-friendly gardening & biodiversity

Title: Assistant Gardener
Company: For Nature Gardening & Landcare Ltd.
Location: Sites within Peterborough, ON and surrounding area
Duration: April 21st to approximately October 31st, 2025 (negotiable start and end dates, and weather-dependent)

About Us:

Founded in 2019, For Nature Gardening & Landcare Ltd. is a small, woman-owned and run business in Peterborough County that creates, builds, restores, and maintains gardens for aesthetic pleasure, ecological function, and edible fusion. We are primarily focused on softscaping work (plants and soil) with some hardscaping from time to time (rocks, paths, walls etc.). We provide knowledgeable and trustworthy gardening service to high-end residential properties and estates in the Peterborough area, taking great pride in cultivating caring relationships with each of our clients to ensure their unique garden needs and desires are met.

Our vision is to promote biodiversity in the broader landscape by performing eco-friendly gardening practices on each property we tend. Through the use of native and non-invasive flora, low-noise electric and manual tools, and mindful gardening practices, we aim to support gardens that are beautiful, inspiring, and supportive to watershed and food web health.

Job Summary:

Do you love being active in the outdoors, getting your hands into the soil, and making the world a more beautiful place? Do you love the rewards of hard work, pushing through physical challenges and having fun as part of a team?

For Nature Gardening & Landcare Ltd., located in Fraserville, ON, is looking to grow our team this year and is hiring two full-time staff to work alongside our Head Gardener building, restoring, and maintaining gardens on beautiful residential and high-end estate properties.

• 5-day work week April to end of June, and again September to end of October. 4-day work week in July and August
• Hours: 8:30-5:00/5:30 (~8 paid hours per day)
• This position is a seasonal role that is weather-dependent in nature (can have rain-days where work is cancelled or rescheduled)
• $21.50/hour

Position Overview:

We work hard tending to the finest gardening details in beautiful spaces, get filthy and strong, and have fun. The day begins at 8:30 am from our Head Quarters in Fraserville, ON where the team helps load equipment for the day. We depart in the company vehicle to work together on the scheduled job site(s). We have two 15-minute paid breaks, and one 30-minute unpaid lunch break. The days is spent entirely outdoors doing physically-demanding tasks in gardens together as a team. The day ends between 5 and 5:30 where we clean and put away our equipment back in Fraserville. Some days, depending on site location and job requirements, may be longer, but notice will be provided. Conditions are sometimes inclement, including prolonged exposure to cold, damp, wind, heat, rain, humidity, sun, and biting insects. You will be coached on gardening methods and applications in this role, and depending on your experience, can expect to learn and grow a lot. You will be working alongside an experienced ecologist and educator, so can expect to learn identification and ecology of the wild and wonderful things we encounter each day. If you bring some of this knowledge to our team, that is a great asset.

Key Responsibilities:

• Maintain a professional etiquette (uniform and training provided)
• Show up ready for work on-time each day to the agreed location
• Work in a safe and responsible manner, helping to maintain a safe working environment (Personal Protective Equipment provided as needed)
• Care and maintenance of all tools (provided for use), including electric leaf blower, hedge trimmer, secateurs, pruning saw, garden shovel, fork, edger etc.
• Garden building, planting, weeding, edging, digging, soil aerating, dead-heading, pruning, adding compost, mulching, fertilizing, watering, raking, invasive species management, pest management (no chemicals will be used), etc.
• Expert care, maintenance and respect for client properties, and professional engagement and communication at all times
• Fastidious attention to detail and client expectations is essential
• Contribute to optimism, enthusiasm, and confidence of the team

Qualifications:

We are seeking two (2) highly energetic, motivated, and punctual individuals to join our gardening crew for the 2025 growing season. In order to be considered for this position, candidates must demonstrate the following:

• Have reliable transportation to Headquarters (not on public transit route), and be punctual
• Able to lift up to 50lbs., work on hands and knees for prolonged periods, have endurance to work physically all day in sometimes inclement conditions, and must be able to push self to higher physical capabilities (expect to be bruised, scratched, cut, sun and wind-exposed, and sore)
• Competent in identification of garden plants and maintenance techniques including cultivating, pruning, staking and deadheading
• Willing to receive and implement constructive feedback on work to align with the high standards of work that For Nature Gardening & Landcare Ltd. is known for
• Must demonstrate commitment to high quality work and a willingness to learn and grow
• Strong communication skills, able to work as part of an effective, efficient, safe, and respectful team
• Self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills
• Be honest, accountable, responsible, and trustworthy
• Able to work both independently and as part of a team
• Resilience with monotonous and repetitive work while simultaneously embracing frequent and unexpected change to routines

Some gardening experience is required however, you do not need to be well-versed on all aspects of job responsibilities. It is a higher priority to us that you have the right attitude, physical stamina, and will work well with our team; We are willing to train folks who meet these more essential attributes.

Application Process:

Interested candidates should submit their resume and a cover letter outlining their qualifications and experience related to the role. Please direct questions to fornaturegardening@gmail.com with the subject line “Application: Assistant Gardener 2025.” Please mention you saw this at GoodWork.ca. Only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

Deadline for Applications: March 7th, 2025

For Nature Gardening & Landcare Ltd., values diverse and inclusive perspectives and experiences. We strive for a workplace that is as diverse as the beautiful gardens we work in. We encourage applications from candidates of any cultural background, lived experience, or socioeconomic status. If you require accommodation during the recruitment process or require an accessible version of a document/publication, please contact fornaturegardening@gmail.com .