Job Description

Garden Educator (Seasonal)

Organization Information

GrowNYC is a 54-year-old environmental nonprofit organization helping more than 3 million New Yorkers by providing essential services and taking action to make NYC a livable city, one where every person can enjoy a healthier, more sustainable life. GrowNYC Programs include:

• Our network of Greenmarkets, Farmstands, and the work of GrowNYC Wholesale ensure that all New Yorkers have access to the freshest, healthiest local food.
• We blanket the five boroughs with resources like food scrap and clothing collections to make waste reduction, recycling, and composting easy for all.
• We build and support community and school gardens through volunteer days, technical assistance, training, grants and more.
• We provide 70,000 children each year with programs that provide meaningful interactions with the natural environment.

Garden Educator (Seasonal):

Under the supervision of the Teaching Garden Program Manager, within the Green Space and Education Programs, the Garden Educator is responsible for assisting with the delivery of the Teaching Garden’s weekday school programing, weekend public programming, and the curricula and materials that support these. The Garden Educator will also assist with daily garden maintenance and with our weekly volunteer workdays. The Garden Educator will be responsible for managing our donation-based weekend farm stand on Saturdays.

Requirements

Primary Responsibilities

• With guidance from the Education Coordinator, lead regular hands-on garden-based lessons for visiting K-12 NYC public school students and active adults.
• With guidance from the Education Coordinator, support and co-lead professional development workshops for teachers.
• Coordinate daily site prep each morning and site clean-up/breakdown each afternoon
• Assist the education coordinator with documenting field trip outcomes and impacts through teacher and student evaluations and surveys.
• Assist in development and implementation of creative grade-level lesson plans, activities, and recipes for school field trips.
• With the guidance of the Farm Coordinator, participate in all aspects of intensive organic vegetable production: planning, planting, harvesting, record-keeping, pest/weed control, irrigation, and compost management.
• Assist with management and training of individual garden volunteers, and co-lead weekly corporate volunteer events in the Teaching Garden, (activities include bed building, watering, weeding, and painting).

Secondary Responsibilities

• Management of the weekend farm stand, including harvest, set-up, and breakdown.
• Interact with the public during the garden’s weekend open hours by encouraging participation in garden-based activities and providing information about the garden and GrowNYC.
• Engage with members of the public during our weekend open hours.
• Lead monthly urban farm tours and regular workshops for the public on Saturdays.
• Supervise and support interns and volunteers on the weekend.
• Meet regularly with Green Space and Education Program Directors and staff.
• Partner with other GrowNYC educational initiatives on programming and outreach.
• Assist with construction of the new teaching garden.

Required Qualifications

• Knowledge of sustainable agriculture and urban sustainability.
• Experience with and desire to work with diverse groups of NYC students and active adults.
• Ability to commit for the duration of the 2026 season (April-November).
• Ability to work weekends (May – October).
• Able to work outdoors in all weather conditions (heat, rain, cold).

Ideal Qualifications

• Basic gardening and carpentry skills a plus.
• Ability to speak a second language a plus.
• An interest or knowledge in hydroponics a plus.

Physical Requirements

Ability to stand and walk for extended periods of time and carry bulky and heavy items. Willingness to be in outdoor settings in hot/cold/rainy weather.

Schedule

Flexible hours but generally ~9am-4pm weekdays, and 10am-5pm Saturdays. (6 months of full time, hourly, statutory benefits with a start date on April 27th until October 27th, then the position will be P/T from October 27th - December 1st, average of 25-28 a week, max 30 hours.)

Compensation

The position is non-exempt, and full-time from April 27th to October 27th then P/T from October 27th to December 1st. It pays $25 per hour and includes only statutory benefits. This role is union eligible.

Location

Teaching Garden on Governors Island, and GrowNYC’s main office at 100 Gold St., Manhattan.

Applications

Qualified candidates for the Garden Educator (Seasonal) position should submit a cover letter, resume, and three references.

Interviews will take place on a rolling basis. Due to the volume of employment applications received, GrowNYC is unable to respond to each application individually. Applicants will be contacted directly if selected as a candidate. No phone calls or recruiters, please.

Application deadline is April 3rd, 2026.

Contact

GrowNYC

P.O. Box 2327

New York, NY 10272

212-788-7900

For additional information, please see our website: grownyc.org

GrowNYC is an Affirmative Action Equal Opportunity Employer and hires without regard to race, gender, religion, age, sexual orientation or physical disability.