Location: Colorado Rocky Mountain School, an independent day and boarding high school, has an organic garden program with vegetable gardens, a young orchard, a small nursery, and a large scale composting system. CRMS is located on a 350 acre ranch in Carbondale in western Colorado between Glenwood Springs and Aspen at an elevation of 6200 feet.
Job Responsibilities: The Garden Assistant participates in all non- administrative activities of the garden as needed. This includes soil preparation, planting, mulching, protecting crops with covers, watering, weeding, fertilizing, planning, harvesting, cleaning produce, preparing produce for storage, preserving produce, arranging flowers, maintaining tools, minor repairs on buildings and equipment and cleaning of the buildings and work areas. The Assistant plays a large role in the yearly plant sale (a Saturday and Sunday in mid-May), that will impart a different skill set; knowledge of perennials and annuals, marketing, sales, and customer relations.
There is also the opportunity for the Assistant to gain skills pertaining to operating a skid-steer, tractor and various construction and landscaping projects. The Assistant will help with the compost program weekly. The Assistant works with the Garden Manager to plan, lead and/or supervise student work crews. If the Assistant has sole responsibility for supervising a work crew, the assistant will take attendance, write reports and submit them by the appropriate deadline. At times, the Assistant may be called upon to work in/on the campus landscape outside the garden. The assistant will take an active role in supervising and training Garden Interns. The Assistant may also be asked to attend a 5 day outdoor adventure trip (such as backpacking) with another faculty member and students from CRMS in the fall. Also in the fall, the garden assistant will help plan for a special evening, the Harvest Dinner, where the CRMS community comes together to celebrate the food from the garden.
This may include contributing a poem, or reading or giving a small speech to the student body.
Time Commitment: The Assistantship runs for 32 weeks; from late March through November , 2020. The assistant will be required to work some weekends (on a rotating schedule with interns and assistant). Due to the nature of agricultural work, typical holidays (such as Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day) will be regularly scheduled work days. Expect a heavy workload (40+ hours/week) most weeks.
Stipend: $275/week paid every two weeks
Housing: You will live in a yurt on campus with a composting toilet, a water tank, and a full kitchen. This housing is somewhat primitive. The yurt, while it does have propane heat, can be on the cool to cold side during spring and fall and during the summer months certain times of day in the yurt can be very hot. The assistant has access to shower facilities in campus facilities, which are a short walk from the yurt.
Meals: Three meals daily provided when school kitchen is open. The kitchen will be open for most of the term of the assistantship with the exception of a few intermittent days/ weeks when the kitchen is closed. The assistant will also have access to produce from the school garden and to a small plot to plant his/her own garden if desired.
Qualifications:
• The Garden Assistant should have practical and relevant work
experience
and a basic knowledge of organic production and gardening and a genuine curiosity about learning more, an interest in the educational side of agriculture
• the ability to thrive under challenging conditions
• the ability to work alone and take on a leadership role with gusto
• an ability to be flexible and respond to changes and challenges that
arise because of the school calendar and the weather
• Must be 21 years of age
• Experience working with teenagers is a plus
• A strong interest in organic agriculture and our food system
• Strong organization skills and tidiness
• A well-developed and energetic work ethic
• Due to the presence of students on campus, all employees are required
to pass
a background check. This requirement poses a barrier for international applicants.
• Must provide own transportation to CRMS
• Ability to work in an efficient and thorough manner
• Due to the housing available to interns/assistant, no pets are
allowed.
To apply: contact hmcdermott@crms.org Application deadline: February 14, 2020
