Garden Volunteer Coordinator
Position Description
The UCSB Edible Campus Program seeks a student to coordinate garden volunteer events for community gardens on campus, in Isla Vista, and is neighboring areas. The intern will oversee our Saturday Morning Live (SML) program where we organize volunteer days every Saturday from 11am -1pm and each week we travel to a different community garden. The intern will also work closely with community service organizations, fraternities, sororities, and other groups interested in volunteering to set up organization specific volunteer activities. Finally, the student will also help the UCSB Edible Campus Program to create new partnerships and collaborations with on and off campus organizations to further the ECP mission.
ECP Mission Statement:
The mission of the Edible Campus Program (ECP) is to turn waste into food; engage students as growers and producers; promote sustainable agriculture, permaculture and food justice through education; and address local food insecurity by repurposing underutilized spaces for sustainable food production. We educate students and the broader community in practices that address social, economic, and environmental aspects of sustainability and help them to reclaim their personal connection to the land and their food. ECP supported community gardens and growing spaces welcome community members from all ages and backgrounds to connect and share the joy of food.
More about the UCSB Edible Campus Program
Duties and Responsibilities:
*Hours 10-12 hrs/week
* Plan and organize a Saturday Morning Live Volunteer day most Saturday Mornings 10:30am (setup)-1:30pm (with clean up) in partnerships with community gardens on campus and in Isla Vista.
* Plan and organize 1-2 volunteer events each week in additional to the Saturday Morning Live program with partner organizations interested in a tailored volunteer experience
* Organize additional volunteer events as needed throughout the year
* Match individuals interested in solo and smaller volunteer opportunities with garden coordinators
* Nurture and grow the campus and community partnerships of the UCSB Edible Campus Program
* Represent UCSB Edible Campus Program at outreach and tabling events
* Communicate daily with volunteers (includes texting, phone calls and emails)
Minimum Requirements:
* Must be willing to work in the dirt and do basic gardening activities
* Energetic, outgoing, and able to get volunteers excited about tasks like weeding, mulching, working with compost, etc.
* Able to multitask and handle a long list of small tasks. A lot of the work of this position will be responding to emails, phone calls, and texts of volunteers, garden coordinators, and other partners.
* Very organized. Able to coordinate lots of small details and stay on top of reminder emails to partners.
* Confident enough to give directions to and manage large groups of volunteers.
* Available most weekends for garden volunteer days and outreach events, especially Saturday mornings,
* Willing and able to work onsite
* Commitment to safety
* Eligible for the work study program
Preferred Requirements:
* Past experience managing volunteer events
* Past experience with gardening