Community Gardens & Orchard

Position: Food Security Steward (organic food gardens, greenhouse and orchard)
Organization: Springbank Gardens | rare Charitable Research Reserve
Location: primarily outdoors at the Springbank Farm location in all types of weather. Springbank Farm is not accessible by public transit. Access to a vehicle and a driver’s license is required. Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario

Who You Are

You have a passion for the environment and sustainable agriculture and want to work towards a greater good by contributing to food security in the community. You understand that your success is only as good as the whole, and you contribute in a humble way, for example by being the face of Springbank Farm while improving access to local foods through regenerative agriculture practices through working with volunteers of all ages and abilities, school groups and other staff. You have high expectations for yourself while also willing to learn from failure. You are someone who enjoys being outdoors, and daily hard work in a small-scale organic agriculture setting. You are excited to represent rare while improving food security in the Region.

Who We Are

We are a community-based urban land trust and environmental institute that stewards over 1,500 acres of land in Waterloo Region/Wellington County. The lands we live on, work on and derive benefit from were taken away from the original stewards, and it is our goal to restore that connection and to work towards building ethical, reciprocal relationships. This includes learning about and acting on our responsibilities as settlers and unlearning our cultural and historical biases. Most of the land currently in our care is located within the Haldimand Tract, which is territory of the Onkwehon:we peoples of the Six Nations of the Grand River and the Mississaugas of the Credit Anishinaabe First Nation. In addition, we steward land at the border of the Upper Canada Treaty No. 3 and Treaty 19 which is also territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit. We honour and respect the sovereignty of these First Nations and their ancestors. Conservation is our priority, and our goal is to make the environment more relevant in peoples’ lives through environmental research and education. Modelled after an academic institute or research lab, the culture we strive for is a casual work environment that is positive, supportive, collegial and often experimental. As a registered charity, we are not working towards making the biggest profit for a corporation but working towards finding the best ways on how we want to live sustainably. You can find more about our culture and values, who we are looking for and what you can expect in the Frequently Asked Question section at: https://www.raresites.org/about/careers#jobs

The Role

Supervised by and reporting to the Gardens and Facilities Coordinator, while working in a team environment with other staff and volunteers, the Food Security Steward is responsible for improving access to local foods through regenerative agriculture practices including growing food for donation to the local food bank and propagating plants for the Spring Plant Sale, sustainable seed saving goals, and providing educational opportunities for adults and children in an organic garden setting.
The role includes the following responsibilities:

• Engaging in physically demanding work in organic food gardens and orchard that includes planting, pest management, weeding, mulching, watering, harvesting.
• Plant propagation in greenhouse in preparation for the Spring Plant Sale.
• Working as a team to successfully grow, harvest and deliver thousands of pounds of organic produce to the local food bank.
• Leading garden volunteers from corporate groups, schools, non-profits, and individual members of the community.
• Providing leadership to Food Bank clients and Food Bank staff who assist in Springbank Food Bank gardens.
• Providing mentorship to new community garden members, enhancing food skills and restorative agriculture knowledge.
• Organizing and maintaining tools and equipment.
• Assisting with teaching children from rare’s Every Child Outdoors program about organic gardening, using a hands-on approach that includes plant care, fun facts, harvesting and tasting.
• Developing and presenting a public workshop on a relevant topic (example: sustainable food systems and organic food growing).
• Promoting rare’s vision to community gardeners, volunteers and the public.
• Other duties as assigned.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Strong interest in local food security, the environment and social justice.
• Organic food gardening experience.
• Ability to work in all weather conditions, including rain or intense heat, and tolerant of exposure to biting and crawling insects.
• Ability to lift and carry heavy weights (up to 25kg).
• Ability to use manual tools such as shovels, rakes, hoes, garden forks and wheelbarrows.
• Demonstrated ability for teamwork and ability to work responsibly while unsupervised.
• In addition to following all COVID-19 safety measures to ensure the safety of our staff, volunteers and guests, the rare Charitable Research Reserve requires all staff be fully vaccinated (at least two doses) against COVID-19 as a condition of employment.

Work Environment

• Responsibilities for this role are carried out primarily outdoors at the Springbank Farm location in all types of weather.
• Available Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with an occasional Saturday or evening shift to staff special events or workshops such as Seedy Saturday and the Spring Plant Sale and EcoMarket.
• Springbank Farm is not accessible by public transit. Access to a vehicle and a driver’s license is required.
• Dogs are welcome to visit the office in accordance with related policies.

Compensation Package

• This is an 8-month contract position with a wage of $21.30/hr, 35 hours a week
• The anticipated start date is March 3, 2025 with an end date of October 24, 2025

Deadline for applications is Thursday, January 23, 2025

HOW TO APPLY

Applicants are invited to send their application as ONE attachment to the following email address: jobs@raresites.org . 

Please mention you saw this at GoodWork.ca.

Only documents including a cover letter and resume compiled into ONE PDF file will be reviewed. Any application materials provided within the body (text) of your email or as separate documents will not be considered. Cover letters for this position may be addressed to Taryn Jarvis. Please include the name of the position for which you are applying in the email subject line.

No phone calls or social media outreach please. Only selected candidates will be contacted for an interview.

As part of our commitment to racial justice, reconciliation, and equity building, we welcome individuals from marginalized communities including Black people, Indigenous people, people of colour, 2SLGBTQIA+ and self-identifying women candidates to apply for this position. We encourage people with disabilities to apply. Accommodations are available upon request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.

We are dedicated to removing bias from our hiring process. For this reason, we have implemented an anonymous review component in our recruitment process. What does this mean? We will be removing your name, address, and e-mail address and any other potential identifying information from your application/resume prior to it being reviewed by the hiring manager, during the first stage of the recruitment process. If you are selected for an interview, this information will become available to the hiring manager only at that time.