The Morris Farm is both a working farm and an educational resource for the communities of midcoast Maine. As a non-profit, educational organization, the Morris Farm Trust promotes the values of sustainable agriculture and stewardship of the earth through education, demonstration and community involvement, while enhancing food security in the greater midcoast area by providing:

Farm Education Director Job Posting

The Morris Farm Trust

PO Box 136, Wiscasset, ME  04578

JOB TYPE: Contract 

REPORTS TO: Board of Directors, President

OVERVIEW:  The Morris Farm Trust is seeking a Farm Education Director to teach, develop curricula, and manage programming year round at Morris Farm and at local public schools. 

Programming at the farm includes 9 weeks of vacation Farm Camp for children ages 4 to 12 (one week in February, one week in April, and seven weeks in summer), school tours in the spring and fall, and workshops for children and adults.  Our 50-acre campus includes a barn, hen house, community garden plots, greenhouse, fields rotationally grazed by organically-raised Jersey cows, forests, trails, a yurt, campfire site, farm store, and an indoor learning center. Vacation Camp participants care for farm animals, harvest food they grow themselves, and participate in a wide range of activities including fiber arts, nature journaling, and cooking. The camp is small by design, with just 20 children attending each week-long session.

Programming at public schools currently takes place at Wiscasset Elementary for grades K-5 (0.7  miles from Morris Farm), and Edgecomb Eddy Community School for grades K-2 (3.3 miles from the farm).  Lessons are year-round, outdoors in the school gardens and indoors for cooking lessons using locally grown ingredients.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• The Education Director will be responsible for all aspects of vacation farm camp, school tours, farm-based workshops, and school-based lessons including (curriculum development, instruction, scheduling, registration, budgeting, and maintaining Maine state camp licensure)
• Advertising & recruiting participants for farm camp, school tours, and workshops
• Managing registration, payment, and communications for camp, school tours, and workshops
• Hiring, training, and managing instructors for vacation farm camp
• Welcoming and supporting volunteers to the farm (farmer guest speakers, community volunteers, youth counselors in training)
• Developing new educational programs (ie, Teen Ag program, 4-H program)
• Developing positive relations with the principals and staff at partner public schools
• Writing & reporting on grants to support programming
• Providing monthly updates to the board of directors with details on program finances, attendance, staffing, and learning highlights
• Communicating with the resident farmer concerns and needs of the farm animals and garden beds

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Degree (minimum Bachelor’s, Master’s preferred) in environmental education, experiential education, agricultural education, or a related field.
• Enjoys working with youth and has a passion for cultivating engaging group experiences.
• Experience with and/or knowledge of agriculture and food systems.
• Strong managerial, organizational, and communication skills
• Highly responsible, self-motivated, and flexible
• Capable of working outside in all weather
• An abundance of patience for working with diverse groups of children and adults
• Acquire CPR/First Aid/WFR certification by the first day of summer camp (July 1, 2019)
• Be able to successfully pass a background check

HOURS & COMPENSATION:  The Farm Education Director is a year-round salaried position at 35 hours per week, $30,000 per year.  The position begins June 1, 2019 or sooner and will include a week of paid training and orientation with the current Farm Education Director.