Garden Educator

Summary

Tidelines Institute is an educational nonprofit preparing a diverse generation of students for lives of citizenship, stewardship, and leadership in the communities and wildlands of S’íx Tlein (Icy Strait) and Sit Eeti Geeyi (Glacier Bay). We seek an energetic individual to serve as a Garden Educator at our Good River Campus in Gustavus, Alaska. 

The Garden Educator will be responsible for developing and maintaining our half-acre vegetable garden while transmitting their gardening skills to our students. Our ideal candidate comes with substantial gardening skills (preferably in Alaska or the Pacific Northwest) as well as experience working with young people. While professional experience is desirable, it is not necessary; we also hope the Garden Educator will use the position to learn and grow.

This is a recurring seasonal, full-time position running from early spring till mid-fall, 2024. The start date for the position is between April 1st and April 30th, depending on our hiring timeline and the successful applicant’s availability. The end date for 2024 November 11th. We anticipate similar start and end dates in subsequent years. Part time winter work may be available.

Responsibilities

• Garden management. The Garden Educator will help develop and expand Tidelines’ vegetable garden. Our garden is quite new, having first been planted in 2020. It currently includes several raised beds, a 24’ x 72’ high tunnel, a small orchard, two small greenhouses, a flock of ~25 ducks and chickens, and a large composting system. Our goals in the coming few years are to expand our growing area, improve the high tunnel, and build a large fence to protect the garden from moose.
• Garden education. The Garden Educator will teach Tidelines Institute students the basics of vegetable gardening in Southeast Alaska. They will work daily for ~3 hours each day with Tidelines Institute gap year students during the bulk of the season, and very likely with other interns, volunteers, and other student groups at different points in the summer. While daily activities will change with the progression of the growing season and timing of courses, the Garden Educator can expect to spend roughly half their day teaching students and the other half working independently in the garden. 

Desired Qualifications 

• Gardening skills, preferably developed in Alaska or elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest. While this position is appropriate for those early in their career, we encourage applications from individuals with professional garden experience, light construction skills, experience using a tractor, experience working with laying hens, and/or experience erecting and utilizing high tunnels.
• Teaching experience in outdoor, experiential, field-based, and/or farm & wilderness education, working with diverse student groups, and/or supporting students in living/learning experiences 

• Personal characteristics: flexible, good problem-solver, motivated, self-directed, positive & has a good sense of humor, levelheaded, hard worker, organized, empathetic & understanding with young people