Summer jobs, Student jobs

Position: Community Food Gardens - Farm Worker Assistant
Type: age 30 & under / summer
Organization: Elk Root Conservation
Location: Vallican, Slocan Valley, West Kootenays, BC
Also hiring: Community Food Gardens - Lead

As the ERC Community Food Gardens - Farm Worker Assistant at not-for-profit Elk Root Conservation (ERC), you will play an essential role in working in our certified organic Regenerative Educational Community Food Gardens (RECFG), a groundbreaking food production design that addresses hunger relief in an organic regenerative way.

At Elk Root Conservation we believe that local food security and protecting the planet go hand-in-hand. ERC’s Organic Regenerative Agriculture Advancements, which we have named ‘ORAA’ are innovative techniques including climate adaptive and chemical-free approaches to create biodiverse, productive and environmentally regenerative food garden environments.

As part of the job, the candidate will be growing, harvesting, packing and distributing fresh food for our Community Food Box Program (CFBP) in collaboration with Circle of Indigenous Nations (COINS) and our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. The job will involve a diverse array of tasks related to these projects.

Tasks & Responsibilities

• Directly assist with all tasks related to the RECFG, the Community Food Box Program, and the CSA Program.
• Weeding (a lot), starting seeds, planting starts, shrubs, transplants, and fruit trees.
• Pruning, deadheading, wheelbarrowing, mowing, weed whacking, edging, etc.
• Garden ground prep such as garden bed digging, compost building, irrigation, applying plant nutrition, mulching, and non-toxic organic pest management.
• Food harvesting, fluming, and packing.
• Erecting greenhouses, fencing, trellises, and other farm structure construction.
• Assisting with ERC’s environmental education program delivery on-site for the community from children to seniors.
• Interacting with the public at the farm stand, food delivery, Farmer’s Markets and other community events on and off farm.
• Perform general farm tasks and related inventory management, including but not limited to the production, storage, and distribution of food.

You will engage in a dynamic blend of independent work, collaborative efforts in pairs and teams. At Elk Root Conservation, we all pitch in to maintain the order and cleanliness of the demonstration farm’s public spaces inside and out. As such, you will be required to participate in the cleaning and organization of personally designated tools, general tool and equipment maintenance, wash station clean-up, and washroom facility clean-up after your own personal use to ensure everyone’s safety. Organization and maintaining cleanliness of facilities including the Bee Barn, warehouse, shed spaces, wash station, washroom facility and public use spaces will also be a shared responsibility of the entire team.

Our commitment to inclusion and diversity is reflected in our hiring practices. We welcome ALL interested youth aged 18-30 to apply.

Education & Experience

• Previous farm experience an asset but not necessary

Skills, Knowledge & Abilities

• Ability to work independently and remain self-motivated

• Strong verbal communication skills
• Punctual and self-organized
• Problem-solving abilities
• Passion for environmental stewardship and feeding community
• Accepting/welcoming of positive constructive feedback
• Adaptable and thrives in a fast-paced work environment
• Technical knowledge of plant identification an asset
• Ability to perform strenuous physical work in all weather conditions for the entire season

Hourly Wage: $22

Please submit your application here! or contact elkrootconservation@gmail.com if you have any questions.

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