Community Gardens and Growers Associate
Reports to: Community Gardens Director
Classification: Exempt
Status: Full-time
Organization Description: Southside Community Land Trust builds a fair and accessible local food system in Rhode Island by offering access to land, training, resources and support to community and backyard gardeners, beginning farmers and young people.
SCLT was founded in 1981 when residents of South Providence and newly arrived Hmong refugees worked together to grow culturally familiar, nutritious food in the area’s first community garden. Somerset Garden not only improved residents’ diets and economic self-reliance, it stabilized a neighborhood weakened by arson, neglect and crime. Today, the most significant obstacle to accomplishing our work is the racial injustice that denies Black, Latinx, Asian, Indigenous and all people of color equal access to fresh, healthy and affordable food.
SCLT leases land to 25 farmers who supply fresh fruits and vegetables to 13 farmers markets, roughly 100 food businesses and restaurants and six CSAs. We support a network of 60 community gardens and farms, feeding over 15,000 people every year. We operate three production farms in Providence and Pawtucket where we practice, demonstrate and train others in bio-intensive, small-scale agricultural production. We helped found three farmers markets as well as three growers’ collaboratives that enable individual farmers to bring their produce to market.
Position Description: The Community Gardens and Growers Associate will assist the Community Gardens Director with property development, property management and garden network management. There will also be additional professional development opportunities to learn advanced garden infrastructure and maintenance and computer skills.
Job Duties:
Property Development and Maintenance:
•Monitor garden maintenance and status, work with other staff to address repair and upkeep needs. Examples: trash removal, invasive weed management, tree limb removal, lock replacement, bed repair and building, etc.
•Manage contractors, gardeners, and/or volunteers in the execution of light garden maintenance and upkeep.
•Maintain inventory of shared tools and equipment, advise on replacements/additions as needed
Garden Network Management:
●Assist with community organizing for the community growers’ network, including but not limited to: scheduling, promoting and attending workdays
●Assist with garden record keeping; entering plot registrations into database, maintaining workday attendance lists
●Assist with resource ordering, inventory, distribution - seeds, fish emulsion, mulch, compost, leaves, etc. Evaluate potential opportunities for new resources.
● Provide basic gardening advice and technical assistance - planting, pest management, etc.
●Attend and help facilitate gardener meetings, receive gardener feedback for organizational planning.
●Assist with coordination of new garden site planning and community outreach meetings.
Desired Experience, Education, Knowledge, and Skills
●Some experience in gardening and/or farming
●High School Diploma, GED or relevant work experience
●Providence, Pawtucket or Central Falls area resident
●Valid driver’s license and clean driving record
●Demonstrated experience with, and commitment to, work that advances race equity and social justice
●Skills in any of the following languages including: Spanish, Swahili, Kinyarwanda/Kirundi, Portuguese, Cape Verdean Creole, Hmong, French, Kunama, Burmese Haitian Creole, Khmer, and Lao. Or any language spoken by under-resourced communities in South Providence, Pawtucket and Central Falls.
SCLT welcomes your application even if you do not possess all of the attributes listed above. The organization values both life and on-the-job experience and we consider these in all hiring decisions.
While performing the duties of this job, the employee must have the physical ability to occasionally move/lift heavy objects up to 40 pounds. The employee must be able to work outdoors in any weather condition. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Schedule is an average of 40 hours per week. This position requires occasional weekend and evening availability, especially during the spring and fall.
Compensation for this position will be $38,000-$45,000 and set based on prior relevant experience. This position also qualifies for health and dental insurance through SCLT; if the employee has medical coverage elsewhere, they will be offered $400 of benefit pay per month to offset premium costs.
SCLT is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and teammates without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy (including childbirth, lactation, and related medical conditions), national origin, age, physical and mental disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, and any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We are committed to building a team that includes leadership from the communities that we serve and that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. Bilingual applicants are strongly encouraged – see above list of desired languages.
Interested candidates should submit a resume to Marley Bessette at [email protected]. Please indicate Community Gardens and Growers Associate in the subject line of the email. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Projected start date is as soon as possible.