Assistant Youth Garden Educator

Reports to: Youth Program Manager

 

About City Green 

City Green, Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to facilitating the establishment of urban farms and gardens in northern New Jersey’s cities to create increased access to healthy, local food while cultivating education in food systems, nutrition and the environment. 

 

City Green has two farm sites: a 5-acre farm at our headquarters in Clifton and a one-acre farm in a public park in Paterson. We sustainably grow over 50 varieties of vegetables, keep a small flock of hens for eggs, a small herd of goats, and maintain educational gardens for programs.  We operate our own farm stands in Clifton, Paterson and Passaic as well as a mobile market serving neighborhoods in the area. Through our farms and markets, we aim to create increased access to local, farm-fresh food, while addressing issues of food justice. 

Diversity is a core value of City Green.  We believe the power of diversity enriches all of us by exposing us to a range of ways to understand and engage with the world, identify challenges, and to discover, design and deliver solutions. City Green is committed to working to build and sustain an equitable and inclusive work environment where diversity is celebrated and valued. We believe diversity benefits and enriches the development of all of our staff, partners, supporters, and community.

Position Description: City Green is hiring part time Assistant Youth Garden Educators for the 2026 programmatic season, March through November.   The Assistant Youth Garden Educators support a Lead Garden Educator in teaching garden-based lessons for preschool and elementary-aged children, and plant/maintain youth gardens in an urban setting..  Assistant Educators will support youth programs at City Green’s educational gardens in Clifton and Paterson, as well as off-site at partner school gardens across Northern NJ.  We are looking for enthusiastic, aspiring educators who have a love of the outdoors and working with youth.

Programs that Assistant Youth Garden Educators support include: 

• City Sprouts: Weekly after-school and summer camp garden program at local community organizations
• Field Trips: Field trips for local school groups aged Prek – 12
• Story Time in the Garden: Preschool storytime program for children and their families
• Open Saturdays: Free, open to the public nature exploration for families
• School Garden Installations and Clean-Ups: Leading school groups in filling their gardens with soil, and cleaning-up their gardens for planting.

Job duties include:

• Prepare for lessons by gathering and preparing supplies, reviewing the curriculum, setting up the outdoor classroom space, cleaning up, and returning all materials to their proper location
• Support Lead Garden Educators during programs by supporting outdoor classroom management, activity set-up and facilitation, leading small groups, and working one-on-one with participants
• Implement City Green’s curriculum during garden-based lessons
• Support maintenance of educational gardens.  Tasks include: planting, watering, weeding, spreading compost, harvesting or mulching
• Communicate respectfully with parents, teachers, and school/program staff
• Travel between garden sites with Lead Garden Educator
• Support in collection of daily program data
• Follow organizational policies and standards for safety and liability

Assistant Youth Garden Educator must:

• Have a positive and flexible attitude
• Have an interest in working with youth
• Have an interest in working outdoors in a garden setting
• Be willing to work outdoors in all weather conditions
• Undergo a background check

Hours and Compensation :

• Assistant Youth Garden Educators are paid $17 – $18/hour
• Part-time positions are available ranging from 12 – 25 hours per week.  March – November commitment is strongly preferred.
• Start date is April 1st, 2026
• Youth programs take place between the hours of 8AM-6PM Monday through Thursday,  8AM – 3PM on Fridays, and some Saturdays.  Schedules will vary based on the program schedule and the educator’s availability.
• Assistant Educators must be available some Saturdays and Evenings.

To apply,

• Visit www.citygreenonline.org/careers to apply
• Fill out the online application and upload resume
• Please contact us at 973-869-4086 or opportunities@city-green.org with any questions.

City Green is a non profit Youth Serving Organization. As such we require all employees to receive a recommendation of approval for employment from the New Jersey State Police through State and Federal Fingerprint-Based Criminal History Record Check. Once a candidate has been offered employment by City Green, we will provide instructions to obtain the required documentation.