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Current Opening with Life Lab

Bilingual Garden Educator  Full-time (40 hours per week)

Job Announcement Application Deadline: December 6, 2019 with rolling review of earlier applications

Start date: February 24, 2020

Life Lab seeks an energetic, experienced and dedicated professional who loves teaching children and has a passion for training interns to use the garden as a learning environment. 

About Life Lab

Life Lab is a dynamic and growing nonprofit organization located on the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) Farm.  Life Lab cultivates children’s love of learning, healthy food, and nature through garden-based programs. 

Founded in 1979, Life Lab is a pioneer and national leader in garden-based learning, providing programs, training, and curriculum to inspire children and educators locally and nationally. We serve more than 5,000 children each year through programs at partner elementary schools across Santa Cruz County and through field trips and day camps in our Garden Classroom in Santa Cruz and our Blooming Classroom in Watsonville. Through professional development workshops , curriculum sales, and a dynamic knowledge network, Life Lab also positively impacts the lives of more than 500,000 children across the U.S. annually.

Core Values

Life Lab values collaboration, authentic communication, connection with people and nature, and open-inquiring minds. We also value individual initiative and cultivate a culture in which it can thrive. At Life Lab, we know that having a diversity of backgrounds and perspectives on our team improves our decision-making and programs. In addition, we recognize that staff members whose identities and lived experiences are relevant to those of the students we serve help us have the greatest impact. Therefore, we strongly encourage applicants who have experience working with Latinx populations from agricultural communities to apply.

Position Description:  The Garden Educator will assist the Garden Programs Manager in running field trip programs, summer camps, and internships at the Blooming Classroom in Watsonville and at the Garden Classroom on the UCSC farm. This is a 40 hour per week position with varying responsibilities depending on the season. During the fall/winter/spring months the Garden Educator runs themed field trip programs for local elementary school students and preschoolers and supervises field trip guide interns. During the summer, the Garden Educator assistant-directs our Wildlands & Watering Cans summer day camp and develops a new summer camp program at the Blooming Classroom site along with the Garden Programs Manager.

Responsibilities:

This position’s duties change seasonally with the programming offered in the Blooming Classroom & Garden Classroom. 

Summer Camp Duties (mid- June through mid-August)

• Assistant Direct Wildlands & Watering Cans camp for 7-11 year olds. 
• Coordinate tasks for camp prep week (second week of June) and delegate jobs to available camp staff during that week.
• Keep inventory of camp supplies and prepare weekly shopping lists.
• Co-lead camp training the third week in June.
• Set up and clean up with counselors, Monday – Friday from 8:15 am – 4:15 pm.
• Lead snack and lunch time songs and whole group activities as well as telling stories at storytime.  
• Fill in for counselors when needed.
• During camp, supervise counselors and manage camp staff schedules and mentoring.
• During camp-season, manage and complete list of camp logistical and “behind-the-scenes” duties, delegating these tasks as staff is available.
• Coordinate with Field Production Manager about camp harvesting.
• Manage discipline policy for campers. Maintain direct communications with parents during camp.
• Create schedule for camp interns and volunteers (high school students) and supervise/mentor camp interns & volunteers.
• Debrief the summer at a meeting with the Garden Programs Manager in Sept. 

Field Trip Duties  (mid-August through mid- June) 

Fall and spring season: lead field trips 3- 4 times per week, 8:00am – 2:30pm.

Winter season: lead field trips 2- 3 times a week, 8:00am – 2:30pm.

Field trip duties include:

• Lead introduction and wrap-up of field trip program with classes of 20-30 students.
• Coordinate field trip logistics (oversee setup & cleanup, make plans with interns each morning, greet classes, collect payment, run timing, troubleshoot during the program, collect assessment data, bring classes to & from parking lot and ensure safety as vehicles cross the bike path, restock field trip supplies, make rain plans if needed.)
• In collaboration with Garden Programs Manager, plan training for UCSC student interns 3x/year (once for each season).
• Lead training sessions for student interns, preparing them for what is often their first teaching experience.
• Mentor interns throughout the season, providing feedback on their teaching and providing materials/activities to improve teaching skills, help interns meet their internship goals & hour requirements.
• Occasionally supervise senior interns on curriculum, media, outreach, or related projects.
• Act as a reference for past interns, occasionally writing letters of recommendation.
• Assist in assessment, brainstorming and implementing program improvements.
• Prepare field trip materials.
• Coordinate with Field Production Manager about field trip harvesting.

Summer Camp Planning Duties (December – June)

• Plan camp curriculum, schedules, training schedules, prep lists, and job descriptions.
• Order & prepare materials for camp.
• Meet monthly with Garden Programs Manager for camp planning.
• Assist with selecting camp volunteers.
• Interview and select camp staff in collaboration with Garden Programs Manager.
• Assist with camp registration.

Blooming Classroom Garden Management (A few hours a week, September through May)

• Along with Garden Programs Manager, keep track of progress for garden projects.
• Assist in harvesting and crop planting of garden field.
• Lead garden work days with interns at least a couple times per season.

Other Duties (throughout the year)

• Attend monthly staff meetings.
• Attend bi-weekly check in meetings with Garden Programs Manager. 
• Attend Pajaro Valley team check-in meetings.  
• Coordinate with other Life Lab programs on space use in the Garden Classroom.
• Occasional weekend work required; representing Life Lab at off-site events such as conferences, helping with Life Lab events such as the Annual Benefit Brunch.

Qualifications:

Key qualities and skills we are looking for in a Bilingual (Spanish/English) Garden Educator:

• A warm personable nature
• Cross-cultural competency, with a deep commitment to equity and inclusion
• Excellent verbal and written skills communicating and collaborating with diverse audiences, colleagues, teachers and students
• Exercise of good judgment and maintaining confidentiality
• A deep love of teaching, using positive discipline practices and an awareness of the social and emotional well-being of students
• Teaching experience with experiential and hands-on learning.
• Patience to support and nurture interns that are new to teaching as well as provide positive reinforcement and feedback
• Willingness to schedule vacations around program times unless coverage can be arranged
• Detail-oriented, organized and capable of providing a professional front to our programs
• Individual initiative within a collaborative group culture
• Comfort in leadership roles, such as camp staff coordination and culture-building 
• Local roots and time spent teaching in Watsonville, CA preferred
• Self-awareness and excellent interpersonal communication with team members
• Flexibility, a sense of humor, and the confidence to be silly 
• A passion for Life Lab’s mission and work

Required Experience

• Bachelors degree, preferably in a related field
• Minimum 2 years experience in education (classroom teaching, outdoor and environmental education)
• Verbal and written Spanish language fluency
• Knowledge of basic gardening/farming, biology, and ecology. Previous work in a garden or farm, especially an educational setting, preferred
• Experience managing or leading a summer camp or an outdoor educational program and supervising staff/volunteers
• Experience working with diverse student populations, Latinx communities preferred. 
• Current certification in adult & pediatric CPR & First Aid, and commitment to maintaining certification
• Valid driver’s license and access to a reliable car

About the Location

The Life Lab Garden Classroom & office are located on the UC Santa Cruz farm, a 5-10 minute walk on a dirt path from the nearest parking lot. Closer parking is available for anyone with a disabled parking placard, and Life Lab makes reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees with known physical or mental disabilities. The Blooming Classroom is a private garden a 15 minute drive from Watsonville in rural residential/agricultural land with parking available on site.  In keeping with the working farm environment, dress is casual. The office and surrounding Garden Classroom, and Blooming Classroom are nonsmoking areas. 

Compensation

Salary: $45,000 to 48,000 full time annually, depending on qualifications.

Generous paid vacation, sick time, and holidays.

Excellent health, dental and vision insurance as part of Life Lab’s group plans, including family coverage. (Life Lab contributes up to $1,300 monthly to these combined premiums).

403(b) retirement plan available for employee contributions (no employer contribution). 

Application Process

Please send a cover letter and resumé to Amy Carlson at amy@lifelab.org between now and December 6, 2019. Please include how you heard about the position in your cover letter to help us improve our recruiting. We will review materials and schedule interviews on a rolling basis through mid December. A background check will be conducted with finalists for this position. 

Life Lab is committed to a policy of non-discrimination as an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment candidates and employees will be considered and managed without regard to race, color, gender, national origin, age, religion, creed, disability, veteran’s status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or any other basis in accordance with applicable law.