Gardens Assistant

Reports to: Community Garden Manger,  Garden Programs Manager
Location: Charleston, SC (West Ashley, Downtown, James Island)
FLSA Status: Part Time at 20 hours per week Tuesday-Friday
Salary: $17-$20 per hour based upon experience

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

Under the supervision of the Community Garden Manager and Garden Programs Manager, the Gardens Assistant will work with the Education team members, volunteers, and the community to create stunning public spaces and establish a connection between people and their parks. They will be expected to fulfill and execute the following responsibilities and tasks.

• Perform landscaping/garden maintenance duties to include mowing, weed eating, edging, pruning, planting, weeding, and watering Charleston Parks Conservancy managed Community Garden spaces to include raised bed gardens, fruit orchard(s)/food forest, cut flower gardens and pollinator habitats
• Facilitate monthly (or on an as-needed basis) gardens education curricula, field trips / summer camps / educational opportunities in the garden for a variety of school-aged children
• Co-facilitate / lead volunteers in weekly Gather & Garden volunteer mornings to consist of harvesting, weeding, planting, seeding, and general garden maintenance
• Complete regular Pollinator Counts and Data Collection in designated pollinator habitats
• Potential to gain hands-on experience in beekeeping, mushroom inoculation, and flower farming

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, and ABILITIES:

• Some knowledge of plants and weed identification preferable but not required
• Ability and willingness to work in all weather conditions and perform activities related to the planting, care, and maintenance of plants and gardens
• Experience facilitating educational lessons, summer camp activities, and school field trips within outdoor spaces
• Valid Driver’s License
• Ability to operate and maintain simple power equipment
• Excellent communication skills with staff, volunteers, and community/users of our parks. Friendly demeanor and strong customer service skill set is a must.
• Ability to teach others through hands-on methods; enjoy working with volunteers who may have minimal gardening experience.
• Ability and desire to work either alone or with a team and volunteers
• Strong attention to detail
• Proficiency in using Google Suite
• Ability to work with Canva, social media platforms, and Monday Work Management

EDUCATION, TRAINING, and EXPERIENCE:

• One to three years of work experience in landscaping, gardening, and/or environmental education.
• Previous experience with landscaping equipment such as, but not limited to blowers, edgers, string trimmers, and knowledge of their maintenance.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Strong organizational and time management abilities.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Knowledge of the Charleston community and interest in parks and green spaces is a plus.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee will spend a large majority of time walking, standing, bending, kneeling, crawling, crouching and using their hands to push and pull. The employee is required to lift and /or move up to 20 to 50 pounds regularly
• Physical ability to stand for long periods of time
• Physical ability to work outside in all types of weather conditions

OTHER DUTIES:

• Learn and incorporate into regular duties the skills of beekeeping, mushroom cultivation, and flower farming
• Ability to contribute to social media content through photos, videos, and posts