Company description

Work in one of the most beautiful places in Nashville, Tennessee! Formerly the family home of Mabel and Leslie Cheek, Cheekwood now serves the public as a botanical garden, arboretum, and museum with period rooms and art galleries. Cheekwood’s mission is to stimulate the mind and nurture the spirit, for not only our visitors, but our staff as well.

Job description

Basic Function: Responsible for the education garden and all garden education related programs

Essential Functions & Responsibilities:

Gardens:

· Maintain the education garden, storage areas, compost, greenhouse, and keep all related equipment organized.

· Ensure that the garden is prepared for programming.

· Carry out daily visits to the garden and greenhouse to maintain plants, oversee compost and irrigation, and stay current with pest management.

· Record a detailed plan to ensure plants are planted and harvested at the right time throughout the seasons including ordering seeds, starting seeds in the greenhouse, and transplanting to the garden.

· Keep an up-to-date garden log to record how the garden and specific plants are doing.

Programming:

· Develop hands-on garden curriculum and activities for program participants pre-k through middle school for Cheekwood GROWS and additional school groups alongside the School & Outreach Programs Manager.

· Run garden-based lessons in the education garden with the ability to adapt to weather.

· Prepare for lessons by organizing materials and communicating with partner schools, including the break down and cleanup of materials after the program, and post-visit follow up with schools.

· Coordinate with others in the department when scheduling programs in the GROWS garden.

· Teach garden programs and cooking programs for Summer Camp.

· Facilitate weekly Tots drop-in programming in the Cheekwood GROWS Garden.

· Facilitate afterschool gardening clubs with partner schools as necessary.

· Work collaboratively with the Adult Education Manager to produce seasonally appropriate content for the Cheekwood Gardening School and instruct classes.

· Work collaboratively with the Gardens Department on any garden or pest/disease questions.

· Keep an accurate and up to date calendar with all programs using the GROWS garden.

· Assist with booking school group field trips.

· Lead garden-based lessons for STEAM Passport schools.

· Demonstrate cross-cultural competency when communicating with partner schools, students, and families.

Other:

· Responsible for managing the budget and ordering supplies needed to maintain the garden and run programs.

· Create volunteer opportunities for maintaining the GROWS garden.

· Assist with departmental activities, programs, and special events.

Physical Demands: The physical demands described here are a non-exhaustive list of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to handle, feel, talk and hear. The employee is frequently required to stand, walk, and reach with hands and arms above the shoulder. The employee is occasionally required to sit and stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl. The employee must regularly lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.

Work Environment: The work environment characteristics described here are representative to those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the noise level in the work environment is usually low to moderate.

1. Work Requirements and Qualifications: Bachelor’s Degree in Education or Science, Environmental Education, or similar; or equivalent years of education and experience.

2. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: Knowledge of vegetable and flower gardening with a willingness to learn and improve garden maintenance skills. Knowledge of outdoor garden education practices. Strong ability to work with groups of kids in an outdoor setting. Organization and communication skills, and excellent public speaking skills. Ability to work outdoors and participate in physical labor. Must have the ability to be flexible. Must be a team player.

3. Experience: Experience in either environmental education or horticulture. Experience working and teaching in classroom or outdoor settings. Experience maintaining a garden preferred. Experience working with elementary aged students preferred.

4. Equipment To Be Used: Telephone, computer

Disclaimer Statement:

This is not necessarily an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, skills, duties, requirements, efforts or working conditions associated with the job. While this is intended to be an accurate reflection of the current job, management reserves the right to revise the job, or to require that other, or different tasks be performed when circumstances change (e.g. emergency, changes in personnel, workload, rush jobs or technological developments).

Compensation

this position is: salaried, $35,568* - $50,000

Application instructions

Deadline

no deadline