Growing Gardens’ mission is to enrich the lives of our community through sustainable urban agriculture. We envision people experiencing a direct and deep connection with plants, the land and each other. Growing Gardens unites the Boulder County community through urban agriculture projects, such as: The Cultiva Youth Project (Ages 12 – 18), The Children’s Peace Garden (CPG, Ages 3 – 11), Horticulture Therapy, Community Classes, Growing Gardens Food Project, and the Community Gardens (General Public), and our Community Orchard.

Children’s Peace Garden programs teach children environmental stewardship, nutrition education, respect for diversity, and creative self-expression to nurture a healthy, happy and well-balanced child. 8,000 children from ages 3-11 participate in CPG programming each year. Environmental Education Interns teach a wide variety of engaging hands-on activities about organic gardening practices, the garden as a source of food, the importance of pollinators and visiting our honeybee hives, building healthy soil by exploring our vermicomposting system, and more. Interns are given the responsibility to teach independently as well as with a team, gaining valuable experience for future teaching in Environmental Education.

Fall Season Environmental Education Interns gain incredible hands-on experience teaching and learning in our programs as they develop essential skills for environmental education. Environmental Educators improve their teaching techniques through trainings, practice, reflection, and feedback. Fall Environmental Educators spend most of their time directly teaching in the Children’s Peace Garden programs such as field trips and classroom visits. Interns may have the opportunity to gain experience observing and teaching in the Nutrition Education Program and on the Food Project Farm in Longmont.

Fall season Environmental Education Interns will participate in Growing Gardens’ Food Project Gleaning program with Growing Gardens staff. Interns will collect produce directly from farmers during Wednesday evening Farmers’ Markets in Boulder and bring it back to the Hawthorn Farm where it is distributed to our school partners. Interns will participate in Gleaning on a rotating basis.

Environmental Education Interns will gain hands-on agriculture experience by working in the greenhouse, Children’s Peace Garden and Cultiva fields as scheduling permits.

Environmental Education Intern Duties

Teaching in Children’s Peace Garden:

• Teach the following topics during field trips to the garden site and visits to classroom visits to local schools: plant life cycles, planting, and garden care, insects, pollination, beekeeping, composting, harvesting, healthy eating, community, cycles, and much more!
• Teach Field Trips and Classroom Visits in the Children’s Peace Garden independently and with a co-teacher, with support and feedback from the Education staff.
• May assist the Food Project Program Coordinator with Field Trips at the Food Project Farm site in Longmont.
• May assist teaching Nutrition Education Classroom Visits with our Early Childhood Education and Title 1 School partners.
• Conduct surveys and document attendance at all programs.
• Attend intern trainings as assigned throughout the internship
• Assist with administrative tasks as needed.

Event Participation and Community Outreach

Environmental Education Interns will assist with marketing for programming and will educate and engage with community members during the following community outreach events:

• Annual Farm Gala fundraiser in August
• Growing Gardens Community Harvest Festival in October
• BEE Boulder Family Festival in September
• Additional educational outreach events on occasional weekends throughout the year
• Assist on a rotating basis with Wednesday evening gleaning at the Boulder County Farmers Market in August and September

Environmental Education Interns are responsible for other duties as assigned, to engage with, and learn from, the Growing Gardens non-profit organization and community.

Knowledge and Skills the Intern Will Develop

Education

• Teaching and co-teaching to a wide range of audiences in a garden-based setting including effective teaching techniques, group management strategies, and age-appropriate teaching/learning.
• Strong background knowledge in the following topics: plant life cycles, planting, and garden care, insects, pollination, beekeeping, composting, harvesting, healthy eating, community, cycles
• Practicing effective communication strategies.
• Learning effective feedback strategies including peer-to-peer and supervisors.
• Working effectively in a dynamic team environment including comfort with changing tasks.
• Cultivating a positive learning environment for all audiences including diverse populations.
• Contributing as a facilitator and active member of a professional learning community.
• Evaluating programs through a formal process.
• The intern will receive training on Advocacy vs. Inquiry, Ages & Stages, Learning Styles, Cultivating Community, Giving and Receiving feedback and so much more! 

Gardening and Agriculture

• Basic small-scale organic vegetable production techniques including: Seeding, Transplanting, and Propagation; basic garden care; Vermicomposting; Honeybees; Insects and Pollination; Gleaning; Harvesting.
• Gleaning produce for donation

Structure of Internship

• The internship duration is August 10th – October 30th, 2020.
• Interns will attend a mandatory orientation within the first 2 weeks of their internship experience.
• The intern position is 15 hours per week. Note: hours may vary between weeks and evening work is required. The most effective schedule for both interns and Growing Gardens is any 3 days per week, Tuesday – Friday, approximately 5 hours per day, variable based on the program schedule.
• Each Intern is supported by a Mentor and Supervisor
• Mentor oversees daily activities and supports each Intern’s growth throughout the duration of the contract
• The supervisor is available upon request for check-ins and meetings and provides general oversight of Growing Gardens’ internship program.
• This internship is unpaid and qualifies for credit at the university level

Learning Plan Contract – Each Intern will develop a Learning Plan contract with their Mentor by the second week of the internship. This contract includes: position description, educational objectives, learning objectives, and skill development plan.

Evaluation – To support the intern’s growth during the internship, the Mentor will provide a midpoint and end-of-internship evaluation. Evaluations include Intern self-evaluation, Mentor evaluation of intern and intern evaluation of mentor and supervisors. The intern supervisor is present as needed for midpoint and end-of-season evaluations.

Additional Benefits of Interning with Growing Gardens

• Friendly, relaxed work environment
• Hands-on career experience at al well-respected non-profit!
• Development of marketable education and leadership skills
• Additional training offered through Growing Gardens classes, workshops, and staff career panels
• Access to a wide variety of organic seeds and plant starts!
• Shared garden plot with other Growing Gardens Interns in the Hawthorn Community Garden
• Easy access to public transportation from the garden!
• The Internship qualifies for credit at the university level
• and so much more!!!!

Qualifications

Growing Gardens is seeking individuals who are excited to gain skills and experience teaching and learning in a community of motivated garden-based educators! A successful applicant will demonstrate:

• Prior experience teaching youth in an outdoor environment
• Excited to work outside in all weather conditions
• Ability to serve as a mature, healthy role model for youth
• Self-motivated team player with the ability to meet deadlines, remain flexible and adjust to changing priorities in a fast-paced environment
• Ability to work effectively and efficiently independent of supervision
• Responsibility, reliability and organizational skills 
• Interest in developing skills and knowledge in garden-based education. No prior gardening or farming experience required
• Applicants must hold current certifications in CPR and First Aid or be able to attain them by August 10, 2020
• The intern position is contingent upon satisfactory results of a background check