Summer jobs, Student jobs

Position: Organic Garden Assistant
Type: age 30 & under / summer
Organization: rare Charitable Research Reserve
Location: Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario

Responsible for ensuring the successful preservation and restoration of 1,200+ acres, rare is located in one of the fastest-growing areas of the country.

Its lands provide a natural laboratory for scientific study and research, and for rare’s related research-based educational programs. 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

Supervised by and reporting to the Gardens and Facilities Coordinator, while working in a team environment with other staff and volunteers, the Organic Garden Assistant is responsible for assisting with managing and maintaining large organic vegetable gardens, a fruit orchard, lawn care, aiding volunteer gardeners and guiding the weekly ECO garden program for children.

ELIGIBILITY

This is a paid position, under the Government of Canada - Canada Summer Jobs Program. Requirements of funding state that the participant must:

• be between 15 and 30 years of age at the beginning of the employment period*;
• be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or person to whom refugee protection has been conferred under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act for the duration of the employment**; and,
• have a valid Social Insurance Number at the start of employment and be legally entitled to work in Canada in accordance with relevant provincial or territorial legislation and regulations.

*The youth must be 15 years of age at the beginning of the employment period. The youth may be more than 30 years of age at the end of the employment period as long as the youth was 30 at the beginning of the employment period.

**International students are not eligible participants. International students include anyone who is temporarily in Canada for studies and who is not a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or person who has been granted refugee status in Canada. Youth awaiting a refugee status ruling, as well as those who hold a temporary visitor visa, youth visa or work visa are ineligible. As the objective of the CSJ program is to support youth entering the Canadian labour market, the temporary nature of an international student’s time in Canada does not allow for a long-term connection to the labour market.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Growing produce for Food Banks, contributing to food security for low-income families, including seniors and newcomers to Canada.
• Engaging in Food Bank garden tasks including pest management, planting, weeding, mulching, watering, harvesting, record keeping, weather log, educational workshops, and tool maintenance.
• Grows, installs, and maintains indoor and outdoor plants, maintains outdoor properties, maintains irrigation systems.
• Grows plants using different propagation techniques.
• Identifies nutrient requirements of plants, applies nutrients and monitors plants
• Transplants, installs and prunes plants.
• Analyzes plant watering requirements and maintains irrigation systems.
• Controls plant pests and diseases using integrated pest management techniques.
• Gardener would work closely with the staff, community members and dedicated volunteers to design, implement and complete the tasks involved in running and maintaining a large organic garden.
• Coordinating public involvement and guiding volunteers at the gardens.
• Teaching garden skills to children.
• Assisting with Indigenous garden needs.
• Assisting with events as required.
• Attending regular staff meetings to report on progress.
• Recycles waste materials.

SKILLS AND REQUIREMENTS

• Keen interest in organic gardening, local food security and sustainable agriculture
• Ability to work in all weather conditions, including rain or intense heat, and tolerant of exposure to biting and crawling insects
• Be able to bend, twist, crawl, and walk on uneven terrain and be able to lift and carry heavy weights up to 50lbs
• Ability to use manual tools such as shovels, rakes, hoes, garden forks and powered equipment such as lawnmowers and weed trimmers
• Demonstrated ability for teamwork and ability to work responsibly while unsupervised
• Good communication skills
• Observant, specifically in relation to noticing gardens pests and problems
• Have reliable transportation to and from the workplace
• Available Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

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 against COVID-19 as a condition of employment.

SALARY: 21.30 per hour, 35 hours a week between 8 to 16 weeks, depending on availability of funding.

TENTATIVE START DATE: May 5, 2025 (Negotiable and depending on availability of funding)

HOW TO APPLY

DEADLINE: March 28, 2025

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

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.

Please mention you saw this at FoodWork.ca.

No phone calls please. Only selected candidates will be contacted for an interview. Two professional references will be requested if you have been short-listed 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, LGBTQI2S+ 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 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. We also do not use Artificial Intelligence in our job screening process.