Farm Day Camp Staff

Position Location: South Vancouver (July and August) and Coquitlam (August; not all staff will work in Coquitlam)
Application Deadline: Review of applications begins June 16, 2023; online interviews begin June 20th
Position Dates: June 26-Sept 1. 4-day weekend August 5-8
Pay Rate: starting at $16.45/hr; if the BC minimum wage is increased, this wage will also increase. All seasonal staff receive paid sick leave.
Hours of work: Monday-Friday, 8:15-5:00. Average of 40 hours/week; some weeks may be up to 45 hours during July
IMPORTANT NOTE: Position dependent on funding and may change in response public health directives on group activities related to COVID-19. This may affect employment contracts.

The Position
If you love seeing kids find joy in holding worms or discover that kale is their favorite food, if you have a favorite silly vegetable song or game, and if you think camp is the best part of summer, this might be the position for you! Day Camp Facilitators will facilitate Camp Fresh Roots programming for kids ages 5-12 at our Vancouver and Coquitlam schoolyard farms. Our camp programming includes educational activities, games, songs, farm work, harvesting, cooking, and sharing food, field trips, and more. Day Camp Facilitators will work as part of a small team to lead a mix of pre-planned and camper-directed activities, with the opportunity for you to create programming you're passionate about.

Job Duties

• Follow all camp policies and procedures to ensure camper health and safety.
• Maintain a fun, nurturing, and joyful camp environment for all campers
• Lead engaging, age-appropriate programming that fits the camp philosophy
• Provide guidance and supervision to campers, including helping campers solve their own problems and disagreements
• Role model making good choices and trying new things
• Work with the Assistant Camp Director and other Program Staff to plan activities and create or acquire program materials
• Coordinate use of farm space and materials with other Program Staff and share space appropriately with Good Food and Youth Empowerment teams
• Complete incident reports and other paperwork in a timely manner
• Give and receive peer feedback

Qualifications

• Experience working with kids required; experience working with neurodivergent kids and kids with learning differences a plus
• Passion for farm, food, outdoor, and/or environmental education
• Outgoing, energetic, and unafraid to be silly
• Education and/or experience in teaching, gardening, cooking, ecology, theater, or related fields preferred
• Physically able to work outdoors in all weather conditions for up to 9 hours a day
• Able to follow policies and procedures to ensure camper and staff health and safety
• Ability to speak multiple languages a plus. Languages frequently spoken in our communities include Cantonese, Mandarin, Spanish, Tagalog, Punjabi, Farsi, French, and Ukrainian.
• Current First Aid, including Child and Infant CPR, will be required before position starts; funding for this training may be available
• Must pass a criminal record check to be able to work with children and vulnerable populations
• Must meet Canada Summer Jobs Requirements; minimum age 17
• COVID-19 vaccination is strongly recommended for the health of staff and campers.

Compensation Package

• Pay: $16.45 starting rate, plus 4% in lieu of vacation
• Paid Sick Leave
• On the job training and professional development workshops
• Discount on produce and access to culls

How to Apply
Fresh Roots is committed to employment equity and encourages applications from underrepresented groups.

Applications must be submitted at https://freshroots.bamboohr.com/careers/58. Submit a resume, a short cover letter OR video introduction, and names, phone number, and email address information for 3 references who are not friends or family members (coaches, teachers, mentors, work or volunteer supervisors are all great). At least one reference should be able to speak to your experience with kids.

Your cover letter or video should

• introduce yourself
• share why you want this position
• share what you hope to gain from the position if hired.

Videos should be no more than 3 minutes, and must be shared via a link in the "website, blog, or portfolio" line. Cover letters should be no more than 500 words and must be uploaded as a document. Please note that we are not judging videos based on your video editing skills, and neither videos nor cover letters are preferred. Choose the option that best lets you shine.

We regret that due to the high volume of applicants only those selected for interviews will be contacted.

About Camp Fresh Roots
Camp Fresh Roots offers joyful, risk-aware day camp programming led by well-trained, caring staff on Fresh Roots schoolyard farms and food lands in South Vancouver and Coquitlam. We welcome approximately 300 campers each summer from a wide variety of backgrounds and abilities, and we offer sliding scale registration to make our camps as accessible as possible. Staff receive 40 hours of training, including in depth training on health and safety, camp programming, and diversity and inclusion. Learn more about the camp at freshroots.ca/camp.

About Fresh Roots
Our Vision is Good Food For All, which is realized when youth have the skills, capacity, and will to act as food citizens and land stewards, to grow and share healthy food for themselves, their families, and the planet! To make this vision a reality, we cultivate educational farms and programs where students dig into meaningful connections with the land, food, and each other, inspiring communities to build just food systems.