We are looking to hire a gardener to serve all of our campuses beginning Mid March 2026

Required qualifications

  • Demonstrated gardening or small-scale farming experience across seasons.

  • Comfortable planning and executing production in protected culture (high tunnels/greenhouses) and outdoors.

  • Strong organization: can build checklists, routines, and systems others can follow.

  • Comfort working outdoors in all weather; physically able to lift, bend, carry, and dig.

  • Positive communicator who can lead helpers (students/teachers/volunteers) kindly and clearly.

Preferred qualifications

  • Experience in educational settings or youth programs.

  • Familiarity with permaculture/food forest management.

  • Basic irrigation and light construction skills.

  • Experience with cut flowers and/or plant start sales.

  • Experience tracking yield and basic farm finances.

Apply

Gardener Role summary

We’re hiring a School Gardener to develop and maintain productive, beautiful growing spaces across our campuses. This person will lead day-to-day garden operations for high tunnels and greenhouses, planters, raised beds, in-ground rows, vegetable and flower gardens, and the food forest—while building systems that make the work sustainable with students, teachers, and volunteers.

A core goal of this role is to increase harvest quality and consistency so that, over time, production can break even with the costs of materials and labor (through sales, CSA-style offerings, farm stand, school kitchen use, plant starts, flowers, workshops, etc.

    • The gardener position is intense during spring and summer months. The position could easily be 40 hours/week with a longer winter break. Depending on the level of volunteers brought along, the gardener’s hours could be lessened.

    • Expect seasonal rhythm with peak periods (spring planting, summer maintenance/harvest, fall production, winter planning)

    • Regular weekly schedule with occasional early mornings or special events as needed.

    • Create and maintain a seasonal growing plan for vegetables, flowers, herbs, and perennial systems.

    • Plan crop rotations, successions, and planting schedules for:

      • High tunnels and greenhouses

      • Raised beds/planters

      • In-ground rows

      • Food forest / perennial polycultures

    • Start seeds/propagate plants and manage transplants.

    • Track varieties, dates, yields, and notes for continuous improvement.

    • Maintain tunnel/greenhouse structures for safety and longevity (plastic, hardware, ventilation, irrigation). Make repairs when necessary.

    • Keep interiors weeded and organized; manage soil health and bed prep.

    • Build and maintain systems: irrigation, trellising, shade cloth, frost protection.

    • Create standard operating procedures (SOPs) so others can help effectively.

    • Build soil through compost, mulch, cover crops, and amendments as needed.

    • Implement efficient watering plans and ensure systems are reliable.

    • Manage pathways, weed pressure, and erosion in high-use student areas.

    • Maintain and expand the food forest: trees, shrubs, vines, guilds, and understory.

    • Manage pruning, mulching, watering, and protection from pests/wildlife.

    • Establish signage/learning features and simple maintenance routines for shared stewardship.

    • Set harvest standards for quality and timing; reduce losses and waste.

    • Organize washing, packing, storage, and distribution systems.

    • Help create a simple sales/use plan (choose what fits our school):

      • Farm stand / pop-up market

      • CSA shares

      • Bouquet sales (flowers)

      • Plant starts (spring)

      • School kitchen/cafeteria integration

      • Community partnerships/donations with tracking

    • Track basic farm economics: inputs, labor time, yields, revenue and value used by the school in collaboration with school leadership.

    • Provide direction to teachers and volunteers during work blocks.

    • Maintain a safe, welcoming, organized workspace that supports learning.

    • Facilitate the teachers ability to coordinate student involvement safely and meaningfully.

    • Maintain beds, rows, planters, paths, and common areas (clean, safe, attractive).

    • Keep tools organized and in working order; maintain a clear inventory list.

    • Monitor pests/disease and manage using integrated pest management (IPM).