Garden and Food Literacy, School & Community Gardens

Contract Position: Garden Educator
Organization: Grandview Woodland Food Connection (GWFC) at Britannia Community Centre
Location: Vancouver, BC

The Grandview Woodland Food Connection (GWFC) at Britannia Community Centre is a Neighborhood Food Network supporting the health & well-being of all residents, especially, our vulnerable, under-served, and low-income neighbours.

We address food security by providing a broad spectrum of programs that connect & strengthen our community. The GWFC works with students and community members in our 10,000+ sq. ft. garden areas where folks can gain hands-on food-growing experience and ecological knowledge, while providing freshly grown veggies and fruits for various school and community food programs. The šxʷqʷeləwən ct (One heart, one mind) garden surrounding the Carving Pavilion, is a garden full of Indigenous plants that have cultural, medicinal, household, and food uses. The close-by Nexway̓s wa lh7áy̓nexw (Transformed Life) Garden provides learning and growing space for students and community members as well as rentable community plots where we can grow food with our neighbours. We also steward the ¿uuqinak’uuh Grandview Elementary School Garden, where we use land-based education to help students grow and flourish.

The Grandview Woodland Food Connection at Britannia is looking for a passionate Garden Educator to work with students, help care for our gardens and engage meaningfully with our community. With support from a team, the Garden Educator is responsible for providing garden and food literacy lessons to students at Grandview Elementary, Britannia Community Elementary, and Britannia Secondary. The successful candidate will also support the overall care, maintenance, and development of our school and community gardens. The Garden Educator will be working collaboratively with our šxʷqʷeləwən ct Indigenous Gardener to connect students and community members to the land, ensuring that Indigenous cultural learning is embedded in activities and celebrations.

Candidates who feel they have limited experience are encouraged to apply! The successful candidate is someone who brings with them a passion for learning, and eagerness to grow, an interest in supporting food dignity, and a commitment to realizing their vision though creativity and determination. We are happy to support the right candidate grow into this role. We are committed to recruiting a diverse workforce that represents the community we so proudly serve. Indigenous applicants, people of colour, all genders, LGBT2Q+ and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply. Accommodations will be provided upon request during the selection process.

Specific Duties and Responsibilities

The successful candidate will:

• Work collaboratively with schoolteachers and the šxʷqʷeləwən ct Indigenous Gardener to develop and deliver interactive, land-based learning curriculum, with a focus on Indigenous plants and cultural knowledge.
• Facilitate and sometimes co-facilitate student-led salad bar sessions and hands-on garden lessons for Grandview Elementary students and work with Britannia Secondary & Britannia Community Elementary students in the garden. Class sizes vary from 10 – 25 students.
• Support hands on food growing experience and ecological & cultural knowledge sharing with students and community members.
• Contribute to the overall care, maintenance, and development of the Transformed Life & One Heart One Mind gardens at Britannia, and the Grandview Elementary School Garden.
• Work collaboratively with staff and volunteers.
• Engage and build relationships with students of all ages through creative and adaptable methods to accommodate for different learning styles and needs.
• Communicate with teachers, partners, and community members by email.
• Report to/be supervised by the Community Food Security Coordinator.
• Be responsible for additional duties as required.

Desired Knowledge and Experience:

• Extensive experience working with students from kindergarten to grade 12.
• Some training and/or experience in horticulture.
• Sound knowledge of safe work procedures and the tools, materials and equipment used in urban and Indigenous agriculture work.
• Good knowledge of organic and sustainable gardening and farming practices and Indigenous plant care, with a desire to learn more.
• Knowledge and understanding of current and historical Indigenous issues, cultures, practices, Indigenous cultural safety, cultural humility, Indigenous-specific racism, anti-racism, equity, diversity, inclusion, and Indigenous worldview is required.

Desired Skills and Abilities:

• Ability to plan and facilitate garden and food literacy lessons to students aged 5-18 years.
• Creativity and innovation skills with a curious mindset.

• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively with a team.
• Ability to adapt activities and respond to emerging needs of students and community members.
• Strong communication skills, both oral and written.
• Ability to collaborate with diverse groups, including marginalized and vulnerable community members (must pass a criminal record check).

Hours: Flexible work hours during the school day that will change depending on the needs of the garden and the students. The hours will vary with the season, with an overall average of 12 hours per week. The maximum number of hours for this contract is 360 hours.

Compensation: $32 per hour (contract position)

Term: October 2025 – March 30, 2026, with the opportunity to extend based on pending funding.

Work Location: Britannia Community Centre & Grandview Elementary School Garden

To Apply:

Please email your resume and a cover letter by Thursday, September 25th, 2025 to Ruth Elizabeth Briggs (she/her) at gwfcnetwork@gmail.com Your cover letter should speak to your experience with students, relationship to the land, and garden knowledge, and can be in any format (formal, informal, point-form, graphic) you want.

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We will review all applications after the deadline and are planning to host interviews the week of October 6-10, 2025.