Garden Coordinator

ORGANIZATION SUMMARY:

The Brownsville Wellness Coalition (BWC) is a 501(c)3 organization that serves Brownsville, Texas. Its mission is to cultivate healthy foods and lifestyles. Through its programs, the Community Gardens, Urban Farms, the Farmers Market, the Fresco Mobile Market, La Cocina Alegre, BWC supports local food production, educates the public, and provides access to affordable, nutritious food.

POSITION SUMMARY:

BWC’s Garden Coordinator is a positive individual, passionate about community-based Farmers Markets, small farmers, and healthy urban neighborhoods. They are self-motivated, reliable, flexible, and a team player. They have excellent customer service and community engagement skills, an ability to work under pressure, and strong conflict resolution skills. Garden Coordinators are committed to supporting all community members and creating an inclusive and welcoming environment at the garden. They encourage cooperation, shared responsibilities, and foster mutually beneficial and respectful relationships between gardeners, neighbors, visitors, and staff. They educate garden participants and visitors about program rules, encourage community involvement, and help their garden to be a beautiful, productive community asset. The Garden Coordinator ensures the successful implementation and evaluation of the Community Garden Program. They deliver this community-based program focusing on empowering the community through gardening, farming, and healthy eating.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

· Supports the community garden and urban farm program by assisting with the cultivation, irrigation, propagation, and harvesting of vegetables, herbs, flowers, and tree fruits.

· Coordinates garden and farm quality such as soil health, aesthetics, and accessibility.

· Assists in the development of new gardens/farms and related expansion projects of the organization.

· Maintains a record of current and new program participants and volunteers of the program.

· Supports the farmer market program and maintains positive relationships with vendors, community partners, neighboring businesses, and the public.

· Supports The Happy Kitchen/ La Cocina Alegre program and food demonstrations.

· Participates in training and other duties assigned by the Program Manager.

· Maintains a clean, organized workspace and inventory of tools.

· Follows safety rules, treats everyone with respect and takes personal responsibility.

· Works well in a teamwork environment, represents BWC professionally and is a role model in the community.

Foster an inclusive community through community building and events. This may include:

· Orient new gardeners to the site and be welcoming and friendly to all gardeners.

· Encourage gardeners to build relationships by facilitating introductions and communication among gardeners.

· Coordinate garden clean-up days, gatherings, potlucks, and meetings.

· Broaden site leadership by recruiting people to help with projects, produce donations, and leading workdays.

· Seek collaboration, help, opinions, and participation.

· Creates community engagement by educating and mentoring the public by attending partner meetings and facilitating workshops on bed gardening, composting, and food preservation and preparation.

Educate gardeners about program policies and work as a team with staff to encourage best practices for the benefit of the community. This may include:

· Educate gardeners about program policies and provide seasonal reminders.

· Share staff site visit dates with gardeners to encourage active gardening.

· Connect a gardener in need with resources or extra help.

· Check in with gardeners and staff when plots are inactive.

Provide inclusive communication to gardeners about updates, events, resources, and policies. This may include:

· Send emails using the provided email account for all garden coordinator email correspondence.

· Use other forms of communication for garden members who do not use email such as phone calls, letters, and posting signs.

· Work with staff to get messages translated into the languages spoken in your garden.

· Willing to problem solve at the site and work together to resolve issues.

Support an inclusive community where everyone contributes to benefit the whole garden and shares responsibility for site maintenance.

· Identify community needs and work with staff and gardeners to get resources and collaborate on projects.

· Get to know your gardeners, their interests, and how they want to contribute.

· Facilitate community decision-making.

· Post “to-do” lists to encourage gardeners to complete community service hours.

· Gathers and records accurate garden production, volunteer hours, and other data to report to the program manager and grant manager.

· Notify staff of maintenance needs like broken locks, and irrigation leaks.

OTHER SUPPORT:

Collaborates with staff to support BWC’s programs and supports the organization with other duties as assigned.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS:

High School diploma or equivalent AND

One year experience with gardening or farming practices and production.

Familiar with farm equipment and basic hand tools.

Ability to work in an outdoor setting during various weather conditions.

Must be willing to maintain a flexible work schedule, working weekends and evenings when needed.

Be in possession of a current Texas Driver’s License and auto insurance, as well as reliable

transportation to travel between sites.

Bilingual – fluent in English and Spanish is a must

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

Exerts up to 50 pounds of force occasionally and/or up to 20 pounds frequently and/or up to 10 pounds regularly to move objects.

**This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive.

Job Types: Part-time, Contract

Pay: $15.00 per hour

Expected hours: 20 per week

Schedule:

• Evenings as needed
• Monday to Friday
• Weekends as needed

License/Certification:

• Driver's License (Required)

Ability to Commute:

• Brownsville, TX (Required)

Ability to Relocate:

• Brownsville, TX: Relocate before starting work (Required)

Work Location: In person

Salary : $15