JOBS & SUMMER JOBS

Position: School Community Garden Assistant
Type: age 30 & under / summer
Organization: Nourish Nova Scotia
Location: Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Start Date: June 3rd, 2024, or June 11th, 2024
Hourly Wage: $22/hour
Hours: 30 hours/week (12 weeks)

Overview of Nourish Nova Scotia:

Nourish Nova Scotia (NNS) is headquartered in Punamu'kwati'j, or so-called Dartmouth, part of Mi'kmak'i, the unceded and ancestral territory of the Mi'kmaq peoples. We support food work from Unama'ki to Kespukwitk. As Treaty people, we strive to work under the Peace and Friendship Treaty of 1752 by incorporating Mi'kmaw values, like cooperation, stewardship of nature and sharing, into what we do, but recognize that we have much learning and unlearning still to do. Nourish recognizes the inequities connected to colonization and commit to working towards creating an equitable, diverse, and inclusive and community for all. If we can improve on this statement, please contact us.

Nourish Nova Scotia is a registered charity with a vision of a province where children and youth are well- nourished to live, learn and play. We work in partnership with schools and community to advance the nutritional well-being of children and youth by promoting healthy food environments, facilitating food access, and building food knowledge and skills.

Nourish is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace and encourages applicants from the following groups to self-identify: African Nova Scotian, Mi’kmaq or Indigenous, other visible minorities, 2SLGBTQIA+ or person(s) with mental or physical disabilities. For additional information on our organization, please visit http://www.nourishns.ca.

Position Summary:

Nourish Nova Scotia is looking for a passionate and skilled individual to support activities related to the development and implementation of ‘Grow Eat Learn’ (GEL)- a school community garden program, in connection with schools and community groups across Nova Scotia. GEL envisions school food gardens as health promoting spaces that enhance school and community wellbeing and as spaces for learning about climate change, adaptation, and science.

Working with the School Community Garden Facilitator, the School Community Garden Assistant will support the activities of Grow Eat Learn, including but not limited to supporting the School Community Garden Facilitator with workshop development and delivery, researching and creating resources to support garden and preserving activities, communications and story-sharing, logistics support for activities and events, and general administration.

This position is partially funded through The Government of Canada Summer Jobs program.

To apply for this job, you must:

• Be aged between 15 and 30 years old on the start date of the job;
• Have a valid Social Insurance Number (SIN); and
• Be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident of Canada, or a person who has been granted refugee status in Canada.

International students and other temporary residents of Canada are not eligible.

Responsibilities:

The GEL School Community Garden Assistant will provide on-going support and assistance for a range of activities that aim to strengthen youth engagement and build public awareness of the newly launched Grow Eat Learn Program. Specifically, this includes:

• Assist with the design and facilitation garden workshops and/or experiences for youth of different age groups as well as school garden leaders;
• Support communication activities related to GEL, including but not limited to, social media content creation, writing newsletters or blog posts, and storytelling across platforms;
• Assist with the design and development of GEL workshops materials and resources, with a focus on creating fun and engaging activities for children and youth;
• Support the development of an internal resource catalogue for existing food and garden resources;
• Support the coordination and execution of school garden events;
• Assist the School Community Garden Facilitator with administrative and logistical tasks related to activities of Grow Eat Learn.

Skills & Experiences:

• Demonstrated ability to create inclusive and meaningful engagement opportunities for diverse people and communities, with a focus on youth engagement;
• Demonstrated interest in health equity, food security, and food literacy;
• Garden and/or farming and/or landscaping experience with an interest in food preparation and preservation;
• Strong communication skills - written and oral;
• Experience using a range of social media platforms to communicate information and share compelling stories;
• Confident with a range of technology applications including Microsoft Office, virtual meeting platforms, Canva, Google Suite.

Terms of Employment:

• Hourly pay of $22 by bi-weekly direct deposit; 30 hours/week for 12 weeks (early June – end August). General job hours are 9-5 with some evening and weekend engagements.
• The School Community Garden Assistant will be required for hands-on program/event support on a regular basis; some hybrid work may be possible depending on on-going activities.
• Work Location: Dartmouth, NS.

To apply, please send a cover letter and resume in one document to human.resources@nourishns.ca referencing the position title in the subject line. Please indicate you saw this posting at FoodWork.ca. Application deadline is on or before May 19th, 2024. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for interviews. Interviews will be conducted on May 28th, 2024. Those selected for an interview will be compensated for their time.