Garden Coordinator-4-H Youth Mentor/AmeriCorps Public Health

Do you love to garden? Do you love sharing the outdoors with youth? Join the Bryant Pond 4-H Center team as an AmeriCorps member focusing on gardening and positive youth development through relationship building. 

Host Site Description:

The mission of the University of Maine 4-H Center at Bryant Pond is to encourage and inspire people of all ages to lead sustainable lives through affordable, experiential learning. We model leadership and life skills development, community collaboration, self-reliance, wellness, and stewardship for our natural world. The work is done in service of the University of Maine's broader mission of helping Maine people improve their lives through research-based information and education. We carry out this mission through immersive programs utilizing best practices in outdoor education, positive youth development, and mentorship.

Program Description:

The Bryant Pond 4-H Camp and Learning Center campus is nestled on the shores of Lake Christopher in Bryant Pond, Maine, with 160 acres of forest and mountain trails leading to remote campsites, streams, ponds, wetlands, and a mountain summit. Year-round outdoor learning opportunities are provided to youth and adults through on-campus programming and community outreach. In the spring and fall, schools are hosted on campus for day trips and residential overnight programs focusing on environmental education and teambuilding. In the summer months, summer camp programming includes ecology lessons, survival skills, art classes, hunter safety courses, farm and garden curriculum, and adventure programming. During the winter months, staff work in area schools supporting teachers in classrooms and in the after-school sector providing relationship-building opportunities and farm and garden lessons to elementary, middle, and high school students. Service members will typically deliver lessons to groups of 8-15 students. The Bryant Pond 4-H staff team comprises nine year-round staff with up to thirty seasonal staff and volunteers in the summer. 

Garden Service members will act as professional liaisons between the 4-H Center and schools, families, students, and community networks to cultivate, establish, and leverage meaningful relationships and collaborations. This position requires service members to work flexible hours, especially during the summer camp season. Responsibilities and program locations will vary. During the spring, summer, and fall, service members will be responsible for the overall production and management of the camp garden while occasionally holding group management and teaching responsibilities. During the school year, service members will meet with cohorts of after-school students to build long-term mentoring relationships through Garden Clubs that promote social-emotional wellness and community connection. Service members will support students in exploring agricultural career paths and will provide field trips to area agricultural businesses.

Qualifications:

• Self-motivated with a high degree of flexibility, creativity, and independence
• Ability to clearly and concisely communicate both orally and in writing
• Excellent organizational skills
• Effective public speaker
• Prior volunteer or community service experience
• Dedication to the mission of AmeriCorps
• Ability to use various types of technology
• Reliable transportation
   

Site-Specific Qualifications:

• Outdoor education or farm and garden teaching experience; training is available
• Experience working with a variety of age groups and populations

Eligibility:

• Be at least 21 years of age
• Possess a high school diploma or equivalent, Bachelor’s degree, or two years of experience preferred
• Be a citizen, national, or lawful permanent resident of the United States (documentation required)
• Satisfy the National Criminal History Check eligibility criteria pursuant to 45 CFR 2540.202
• DOE fingerprinting is required
• 1st Aid/CPR is required; training is available  
• Must hold a valid driver's license and maintain a clean driving record 

Essential Functions:

• Develop and maintain caring, professional relationships with participating students, families, school staff, and community partners.
• Commit to ensuring the physical, mental, and emotional safety of all participants
• Engage youth in group programming, facilitate relationship building with a diverse group of youth and adult volunteers
• Create safe spaces for youth to take risks, reflect, and share personal experiences
• Inspire problem-solving and listening skills among peers
• Involve youth in experiential learning, encourage youth to explore new things
• Engage youth in both setting and managing academic and life goals
• Create a structure for extended learning opportunities, college readiness and/or expanded career awareness
• Coordinate, facilitate, and participate in meetings and professional development opportunities with organization staff, partners, and the AmeriCorps program
• Complete Community Health Worker Training
• Coordinate and participate in community service projects, support program staff in recruiting, training, and managing volunteers
• Participate in the following organizational capacity-building activities:

1. Work as a team to design intentional program delivery systems for long-term youth engagement
2. Develop a skilled network of caring adult and peer mentors
3. Apply a comprehensive approach to youth development strategies
4. Creating a strong community support network
5. Utilize validated assessment tools and positive youth development best practices to inform prevention, promotion, and intervention strategies for youth while promoting social and emotional wellness

*In addition, sites and members may work toward prioritizing 

• Informal relationship building with youth
• Embracing student voice and choice 
• Family engagement

Site-Specific Essential Functions:

• Ability to work in fast-paced environments that include long work days, nights, weekends, and overnight trips
• Serve as a year-round mentor for students in grades 4-12 from two area schools by assisting classroom teachers and providing afterschool programming 
• Organize and supervise groups of 8-20 volunteers and youth during programming and community events
• Support summer staff by delivering farm and garden lessons, including soil and animal science, compost, plants, pollinators, and more, for students ages 6-17
• Manage all aspects of the  Bryant Pond 4-H Camp and Learning Center farm and garden, including tools and supplies, animal care, lesson delivery, and seasonal task schedule
• Support the program team to plan and deliver staff, adult, and volunteer workshops and training
• Ability to drive 12-passenger vans with or without a trailer
• Ability to occasionally lift 50lbs
• Ability to sit or stand for long hours
• Perform other reasonably related duties as assigned to support the overall program mission