Garden & Sustainability Educator Jobs

The Sustainability Coordinator assumes responsibility for direct service and engagement of our students, staff, families and school partners on AGC’s new net-positive energy campus. There will be an opportunity to develop partnerships and new programming as part of our expanded campus, production farm and teaching kitchens. The Sustainability Coordinator is part of the team of Specialist Educators (including music, art, wellness) and serves as a member of the Sustainability and Wellness Team, they report to the Director of Sustainability and School Food, they are responsible for the following:

Environmental Education & Programming

• Daily, hands-on lessons in the outdoor edible gardens, indoor hydroponics systems, orchards and naturescapes on campus for K-5 Villages and occasional push-in or co-teaching in grades 6-8.
• Support care for our school chickens, along with our production farm partners and safely involve students at every opportunity.
• Collaborate with the Plant Forward Program coordinator for garden to school cooking education.
• Collaborate with AGC’s beekeeping partner to oversee AGC’s hives and safely involve students at every opportunity.
• Plan and facilitate garden and sustainability activities for summer camp/summer school.
• Promote sustainable practices school-wide through support and facilitation of staff/student training and providing school wide communication to support these operations.
• Ensure Food Safety and Garden to School Safe Harvest guidelines are followed by students, staff and cafeteria workers at all times.
• Chaperone sustainability related field trips.
• Facilitate gardening and environmental learning experiences that leverage the energy and water net positive, sustainable features of our campus to relate to unit themes.

Sustainable Operations

• Take a lead role in the maintenance, care, harvest and watering of our edible garden beds and adjacent edible landscapes.
• Support regular waste and energy audits to make data informed strategic plans that strive for net positive energy and minimal waste
• Ensure safe food handling of ingredients from our edible gardens to the teaching and learning kitchens.
• Ensure gardens, orchards, compost systems, nature pathways, vermicompost, indoor growing, teaching and learning kitchens and all associated tools/infrastructure are organized, in good condition and ready to use.
• Take a lead role in inventory and packaging of fresh produce from our edible gardens and production for community distribution.
• Collaborate on the development of the yearly crop plan in the edible gardens and production farm.
• Manage inventory and procurement of school wide cleaning supplies to meet AGC’s Environmental Sustainability Policy
• Ensure teachers, custodial staff and operations staff have a clear line of communication if they require assistance or supplies related to sustainability

Partnerships & Communications

• Lead garden and campus tours for visitors who are interested in learning about our sustainable school model.
• Celebrate AGC’s sustainability related happenings on social media and AGC’s blog.
• Collaborate with the Director of Sustainability and School Food to design, document and facilitate workshops for other educators who are seeking to implement environmental education or sustainable operations in their schools.

Family Engagement & Education

• Leverage social media platforms to tell compelling stories about sustainability and gardening at AGC.
• Oversee AGC’s annual honey sale enterprise and other related events such as the spring seedling sale.
• Oversee the weekly operations of AGC Summer Student-led Farmers’ Markets with an emphasis on engaging students and families.
• Facilitate learning opportunities and workshops for families to promote sustainable and healthy life choices at home.
• Engage families in adopting AGC garden beds during school breaks and supporting at-home gardening initiatives.
• Write newsletter updates for families that inspire sustainable practices and highlights environmental education happenings at AGC.

New Sustainable Campus

• Take the lead in planning, planting and maintaining the AGC edible garden beds.
• Facilitate learning experiences in the edible garden and coordinate site visits and larger hands-on farm work opportunities with our farm partner Urban Growers Collective.
• Collaborate with our farm partner to order, inventory and transfer fresh farm ingredients for the AGC salad bar.
• Duties and sub coverage as needed.
• Collaborate with our farm partner and onsite Health partner to order, inventory, pack, safely store and distribute a vegetable box prescription program.