Garden Teacher

Unity School’s Garden is truly unique. Established in 1928, it is as old as the property itself. The garden features large, beautiful beds, a magical herb garden, an abundance of raspberries, a fun mud kitchen, a large weaving loom, bunnies, and even a fairy garden where children can unleash their vivid imaginations.

Additionally, we have a solarium, a lovely greenhouse, and a good-sized blueberry patch. We are currently working on many distinctive projects to enhance the garden and expand it into the play area.

Are you familiar with Bev Boss? If you enjoy gardening, teaching, and creating inspiring outdoor play areas focused on nature-driven learning, you’ll fit right in! We also incorporate a farm-to-table concept into our program, emphasizing a holistic gardening approach. You and the Unity chef will collaborate to bring the produce we grow directly to the tables we serve.

Are you an educator and a gardener with knowledge in growing vegetables, flowers, herbs, and medicinal plants? Do you enjoy teaching children how to cultivate these plants? Can you care for rose bushes and maintain fruit trees, or are you willing to learn?

Do you like cooking with the food you grow in the garden or making medicinal products and teas from your herbs and flowers? Are you interested in creating fun, engaging lessons in the garden for each class throughout the year? Do you find inspiration in nature and wish to inspire others?

Additionally, do you have an interest in making bath and body products, or would you like to learn? We have an excellent fundraising store that parents love, stocked with bath bombs, shower steamers, lotions, body scrubs, and more. We utilize some of what we grow to create these products for fundraising. Do you have experience in this area, or are you eager to learn?

We are looking for our next garden teacher to bring their unique touch to our beautiful, historic organic garden. You will receive hands-on training with our lovely substitute garden teacher and program director on how we cultivate our garden throughout the year. We also encourage you to share your ideas, and we prefer that, once you learn the Unity way to manage the garden, you do so primarily on your own, with oversight from the program director. Please bring knowledge and experience to manage the garden mostly independently.

We are also looking for someone who understands that, as lovely as it is to be in the garden, to stop and look at the beauty that surrounds, it requires hard work and a fast pace to get the job done. The list of needs is always ongoing, but a knack for detail, time management, and quick action are the only ways to mark those tasks off the list.

The Garden Teacher will learn to implement the Tender Gather Grow curriculum, which incorporates Native American agriculture and first foods into our garden. This curriculum will foster social and emotional development through our connection to the Earth. Additionally, you will be responsible for delivering a developmental garden education program based on the Unity School curriculum, including the HighScope model, and aligned with our Unity mission statement.

Mission Statement:

We dream that the children who pass through Unity School will, through play and discovery, be encouraged to live a healthy life, always opt for a peaceful way to solve their problems, and weave who they are and what they have learned here into positive solutions for our community and our planet.

Responsibilities and Duties:

- Collaborate with other teachers and the program director to plan and implement a garden curriculum that includes weekly hands-on activities for each class in the garden, greenhouse, and solarium.

- Design garden programs and activities that cater to the diverse needs of different classes and individual children, ensuring a warm and nurturing environment where children feel comfortable and secure.

- Maintain the garden using organic practices, including composting. Involve children in as many gardening tasks as possible by bringing small groups into the garden to assist.

- Keep the garden, materials, and supplies tidy, clean, and organized.

- Support the philosophy of Unity School by contributing to maintenance tasks and collaborating with the team to further its goals while maintaining a high standard of quality throughout the program.

- Assist with indoor classes as needed.

Education and Experience Requirements:

- Preferred qualifications include either an associate’s or bachelor’s degree in Child Development, Early Childhood Education, or a related field, and or including horticulture.

- Alternatively, candidates may have 20 semester hours of coursework in related areas along with at least one year of successful full-time work experience in a group program for preschool-aged children.

- Candidates may also qualify as a step 6 in the Oregon registry.

- Alternatively, candidates may have 750 hours of qualifying teaching experience in a certified school.

- A minimum of 1-2 years of verified experience and skills in small-scale vegetable gardening is required.

- Preference will be given to candidates who know medicinal plants and flowers.

- Candidates with cooking experience, particularly in making medicinal and body products, are preferred.

- Availability to work at least 1-2 weekend days per month (in place of 1-2 weekdays) is required.

-Experience with taking care of bunnies is preferred.

- Experience with landscaping and a flair for aesthetic design using plants and shrubs is preferred.

-Preference will be given to candidates who know how to use various tools, including saws and have an eagerness to build new areas in the garden and play area with an emphasis on nature-driven learning and exploration.

- Note: To work in a certified school, you must be registered in the Central Background Registry (CBR). If you are not registered, please visit the provided link to get started. Registration is free. https://oregonearlylearning.com/providers-educators/providers-educatorscbr/

We serve children ages 2 to 10 year-round, offering a toddler room, a preschool room, three pre-K rooms, and a before and aftercare program for students in Kindergarten through 4th grade. You will be responsible for creating an engaging garden class once a week for each class, following the Tender Gather Grow and HighScope curriculum.

This is a full-time position, and you must be available to work 40 hours per week.

Please visit our website here: https://www.unityschooleugene.org/ and our garden page here: https://www.unityschooleugene.org/garden-1 to get yourself familiar with our amazing program!

We will be hiring by the end of January to find the perfect addition to our already unique and inspiring school!

Pay: $16.80 - $17.22 per hour

Expected hours: 40.0 per week

Benefits:

• Employee discount
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Professional development assistance

Work Location: In person