Farm & Garden Supervisor

Job Description

Job Description

Farm and Garden Supervisor

Wilderness Programs Supervisor

Salary & Dates: $6815 for summer (with weekly rates before and after summer). Summer Dates for this position are May 19 – August 8, including on site pre-camp supervisor training and Wilderness Staff training week. Full Season: April 15 – October 31.

Job Description: Cultivate Tawonga’s vegetable and ornamental garden using organic farming practices. Care for goats and chickens, including feeding, watering, mucking, coordinating veterinary care, and facilitating humane educational programs with animals and campers. Supervise a Farm and Garden Specialist and support Lead Naturalist/Teva Supervisor. Collaborate with Naturalists/Teva Specialists and Wilderness Leaders to facilitate engaging farm and garden programming for children ages 8-16, fostering with campers a connection to nature, Jewish values of sustainability and caring for the world, and a connection to food, land and farming. Collaborate with Tawonga’s year round Buildings and Grounds team. Live and work at camp for six months from garden prep to shutdown, with up to three weeks of remote work before and after camp to allow for planning and program development. Must be able to navigate over 4-8 miles of uneven terrain to different program areas around camp daily, and work 8 hours/day outside. Live in shared housing.

Job Responsibilities and Qualities

• Manage all aspects and operations of small scale garden and farm with the following goals:

  • Select best crop varieties, planting location, and timing prioritizing kid-friendly produce for direct consumption and useful crops for kitchen use, ready for the months of June-September

  • Build soil fertility; adequately care for all perennials, including fruit trees; manage pests using only organic methods

  • Maintain high animal welfare

  • Keep tool shed, garden and barn organized and well stocked

  • Keep regular records of garden activities, harvest, and animal health

  • Support Tawonga’s sustainability efforts as related to food, farming and animal welfare, including composting efforts

  • Manage garden budget and keep track of purchases.

  • Support with design, accessibility, and aesthetic of garden area

• Supervision and Relationships

  • Responsible for providing direct supervision to rotating farm hand and any other farm staff through observation, scheduling, and frequent check-ins

  • Work closely with Garden Kitchen Supervisor and staff to plan crops needed for programming, and share the space respectfully.

  • Develop positive, collaborative relationships with Naturalist/Teva Supervisor and Naturalists/Teva Specialists.

  • Develop positive, supportive relationship with all Wilderness Supervisors and Wilderness Team

  • Develop positive, collaborative relationship with Buildings and Grounds Team

  • Responsible for effectively communicating with Kitchen Manager and Lead Cooks about garden produce harvest and improving harvest systems

  • Where applicable, prepare for and help lead Wilderness staff training with Director overseeing wilderness programs and Wilderness Supervisor Team.

• Programming

  • Share the responsibility of leading Mgar and Egar Tikkun (morning and evening garden work blocks with campers) with the Farm and Garden Specialists.

  • Lead Naturalist programming during Summer camp and Family camp for all ages, provide support for larger Teva Programming (i.e. Earth Day)

  • Support staff in developing and leading excellent garden, farm, and food system education

• Organization and Work Ethic

  • Create a balanced schedule, sharing workload among team and prioritizing farm and garden needs

  • Leave excellent records for future Tawonga Farmers

  • Work independently outside of normal hours to ensure program area success

Qualifications

• 21+

• Minimum of Bachelor’s degree or equivalent education in Sustainable Farming, Animal Behavior, Education or related fields.

• Ability to plan, care for and harvest food and herb crops required

• Knowledge of feeding, milking, and administering some medications required

• Experience with youth farm/garden or outdoor education required

• Demonstrated professionalism and accountability

• Flexible, able to meet changing work needs and demands

• Able to work collaboratively and independently, make appropriate decisions and communicate effectively with staff

• Can live in near-isolation and also in immersive community

• Working knowledge of computers (including Microsoft Office, Google Docs and Sheets)

• Ability to handle multiple tasks efficiently and accurately, detail-oriented and well organized

• Hold current CPR or Wilderness First Responder, as well as a California Driver’s License or be willing to acquire these certifications upon hire.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable people with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Some lifting and carrying up to 50 lbs.

• Operating equipment (rototiller, weed wacker)

• Standing, walking, kneeling, digging

• Working with and moving farm animals

Normal Working Hours

• Monday – Friday 9-5 with flexibility while in the Bay Area. In Groveland at camp, the working hours are a shift schedule that may start as early as 6:00am and go as late as 9:00pm.

Day in the Life

6:30AM – Wakeup animals, feed chickens, feed and milk goats, deliver milk to garden kitchen

7:30AM - Early breakfast with Maintenance Team

8:00AM – Lead MGar Tikkun (Morning Garden service block) with bunk–planting, watering, weeding, animal care, etc.

9:30AM – Supervise garden work, check-in with farm and garden specialists

12:30PM – Lunch, meet with farmhand team.

1:30PM – More garden or farm work (as a team)

2:30PM – Work on logistics, scheduling, and any other tasks. Off when work is done.

Sometimes, Farm and Garden Supervisor will assist with milking and bedtime when off, depending on staffing and animal needs.