Garden Coordinator

An amazing opportunity to work at a growing and established non profit that puts healthy organic food at the center of its work. Grow healthy, nutritionally dense food for those who need it the most while working with youth volunteers and sharing the wonders of growing food. There is the possibility for additional work directly with Live Oak Farm to care for the larger property, which could get you to a full time schedule.

DEPARTMENT: Garden and Youth Programs

REPORTS TO: Garden and Youth Program Manager

LOCATION: Petaluma Garden, primary; Sebastopol Garden, secondary

FLSA STATUS: Regular, Part-Time, Non-Exempt

HOURS: 30/week - minimum 4 days per week and includes occasional evening and weekend hours

Position Summary

The Petaluma Garden Coordinator is responsible for the planning, coordination and maintenance of Ceres Community Project’s Garden Program in Petaluma, with the goal of creating a productive, educational, and nourishing space that supports Ceres’ work and mission. This garden/farm is at Live Oak Farm in Petaluma and is a new project of Ceres. It is a 1.5-acre site with infrastructure already set up. The garden will be limited the first year but will grow with time. Produce grown in the garden will be used by Ceres’ kitchens for our Client Meal Program serving primarily low-income community members living with chronic and complex illnesses. Youth and adult volunteers will be the main support of the garden.

The Garden Coordinator works under the Garden and Youth Program Manager and collaborates with the Volunteer Coordinator and Youth Program Coordinator to create a seamless and integrated experience for Ceres youth and adult volunteers working in the garden. The Garden Coordinator is responsible for ensuring that Ceres Community Project’s Values and Operating Principles are integrated consistently into the daily life of the Petaluma Garden.

This role requires a fingerprint background check and mandated reporter training.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities

• Coordinate all garden activities including:
  • Irrigation installation and repair.
  • Create and oversee planting plan with support from Garden Program Manager.
  • Direct volunteers and support all garden maintenance and harvesting.
  • Arrange and organize coverage and care of garden when taking time off.
  • Maintain operating procedures and facility information for the garden.

• Lead at least three and potentially four garden shifts at the Petaluma site and cover one shift a week in Sebastopol:
  • Take attendance and provide to Youth Program Coordinator and Volunteer Coordinator.
  • Provide consistency across all shifts and ensure the safety of volunteers.
  • Teach youth and adult volunteers about organic and regenerative growing practices and the skills needed to grow food.
  • Develop positive relationships with adult and youth volunteers; provide appropriate support, training and acknowledgement.
  • Provide constructive feedback to co-workers and volunteers when necessary.

• Support the overall goals of Ceres’ Youth Development Program:
  • Maintain “Positive Youth Development” environment at all times.
  • Attend Youth Program staff meetings and Staff Meetings.
  • Lead Teen Education Circles and integrate garden education into curriculum.
  • Hold check-in conversations with teens around leadership development.
  • Facilitate one-on-one conversations with youth when there are challenges to be addressed.
  • Occasionally attend youth-specific events such as Teen Leader meetings, Teen Leader retreat, Local Foods Feast, etc.

• Communicate with Live Oak Farm about day-to-day concerns and report larger concerns to Garden Program Manager.
• Communicate and coordinate with the Kitchen Manager about harvest.
• Support any events scheduled in the garden.

Qualifications

• A commitment to Ceres Community Project mission and operating principles.
• At least 2 years of professional gardening or farming experience.
• Understanding of food systems issues.
• Experience with Permaculture design, Community Gardens, Master Gardeners or landscape design, desirable.
• Experience working with youth strongly preferred; must see youth consistent with Ceres Operating Principles.
• Strong capacity for mentoring and teaching.
• Ability to stay calm and keep your sense of humor
• Ability to perform basic computer functions using Microsoft Office.
• Ability to work well in a team.
• Ability to communicate warmly and clearly.
• Has a good awareness of self.
• Ability and desire to be in a work environment that values working as a team, relationships and giving and receiving honest feedback.
• Ability to lift up 50 lbs. up to chest height or occasionally overhead.

Physical Demands/Work Environment

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by a staff member to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand in a garden; use hands and fingers to operate various gardening tools and equipment; talk and hear to communicate with coworkers.
• The job requires regular squatting, lifting and twisting; moving heavy items from one location to another.
• Moderate lifting of up to 50 pounds to chest height or occasionally overhead, bending, stooping, twisting, and climbing a ladder is occasionally required.
• Ability to work in unusually hot or cold weather.
• Ability to stand for an extended period of time.
• The work environment while in the office consists of moderate noise (i.e. business office with computers, phone, and printers, and quiet conversation from adjacent coworkers).

COVID-19

Ceres is following the guidance and requirements of the health departments of Sonoma and Marin counties and the state of California. We have protocols in place for prevention of and response to COVID-19 and all new staff will be briefed on these in their onboarding. We need a commitment from all staff that they will abide by these protocols.

Operating Principles

• Heart Centered & Love Guided - We are committed to expressing love, trust, respect and integrity in our lives, work, and organization.
• Everything Matters - Nothing is left out. We work to have every action and choice lead to the greatest positive impact.
• Young People are the Future - Young People are intelligent, responsible, capable, creative, and caring, and must be central participants in shaping our collective future.
• Equitable, Diverse, and Inclusive - We commit to championing policies and practices of social equity that build a diverse, inclusive, and healthy workplace and food system.

Ceres Organization

Founded in 2007, Ceres Community Project works to build healthy communities by restoring whole, organic and locally grown food to its place as the foundation of health, empowering youth, and connecting people in heart-centered ways to others and the earth.

Ceres Community Project's main program, Healing Meals for Healthy Communities, provides free and low-cost nourishing organic meals, nutrition education and caring support to people facing serious illness. All of the meals are prepared by teens that learn about growing, cooking and eating healthy whole foods and the connection between diet and health, develop life and work-ready skills, and discover their power to make a difference. The Healing Meals Program improves healthy eating behaviors among clients, teens and adult volunteers and educates the whole community about the link between healthy eating and the health of both people and planet. It also strengthens the social fabric of the community, another factor that is at the root of health. In times of disaster, Ceres is an emergency nutrition provider for our community.

In addition to operating three program sites in Marin and Sonoma counties, Ceres has trained 13 communities nationally to replicate our model. We are also active at the state and national level in advocating for policies that support equitable access to healthy food and health care, including reimbursement for medically tailored meals by insurers. For more information, please visit www.ceresproject.org.

Ceres Community Project is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All employment decisions at Ceres are made without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin/ancestry, age, disability, marital & veteran status or any other status protected by laws or regulations.