Lead Garden Educator

Lead Garden Educator

Reports to: Youth Program Manager and Director of Community Horticulture

About City Green 

City Green, Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to facilitating the establishment of urban farms and gardens in northern New Jersey’s cities to create increased access to healthy, local food while cultivating education in food systems, nutrition and the environment. 

City Green has two farm sites: a 5-acre farm at our headquarters in Clifton and a one-acre farm in a public park in Paterson. We sustainably grow over 50 varieties of vegetables, keep a small flock of hens for eggs, a small herd of goats, and maintain educational gardens for programs.  We operate our own farm stands in Clifton, Paterson and Passaic as well as a mobile market serving neighborhoods in the area. Through our farms and markets, we aim to create increased access to local, farm-fresh food, while addressing issues of food justice. 

position description: City Green is hiring a full-time Lead Garden Educator for the 2026 programmatic season, March through November.   The Lead Garden Educator position is an opportunity to lead and teach hands-on, garden-based programs for youth (K-12), older adults, and groups with disabilities, while also planting and maintaining small urban gardens. Lead Garden Educators host programs at City Green’s educational gardens in Clifton and Paterson, as well as off-site at partner organizations, senior centers and schools.  

This position includes reviewing and implementing seasonal, garden-based activities, preparing for lessons/workshops, traveling off-site in a company vehicle, providing thoughtful program facilitation, event clean-up, garden maintenance and basic data input.   We are seeking an enthusiastic, flexible candidate who has some experience gardening and a passion for making garden experiences accessible for diverse populations: ages youth through older adults.  Competence or fluency in Spanish is highly preferred, as well as some knowledge or experience in therapeutic horticulture.

Programs that Lead Garden Educators facilitate include: 

• City Sprouts: Weekly after-school and summer camp garden programs hosted at local community organizations
• Older Adult Programs: Indoor, garden-based programs at senior centers, and outdoor field trips for seniors at City Green.
• Field Trips: Field trips for local school groups aged Prek – 12 and groups with developmental disabilities.
• School Garden installations and garden clean-ups: Leading school groups in filling their gardens with soils, and cleaning-up their gardens for planting.
• Open Saturdays: Free, open to the public nature exploration for families

Job duties include, but are not limited to the following:

• Prepare for lessons by gathering and preparing supplies, reviewing the curriculum, setting up the room or outdoor classroom space, cleaning up, and returning all materials to their proper location
• Oversee support staff of interns and seasonal garden educators
• Implement City Green’s seasonal curriculum and activities
• Foster a positive environment for learning and sharing; exhibit outdoor classroom management skills and appropriate group facilitation
• Implement weekly maintenance of educational and public gardens.  Tasks include: planting, watering, weeding, spreading compost, harvesting or mulching.
• Adapt lessons when necessary to different sites and age groups, weather conditions, and participant needs and abilities
• Communicate respectfully with parents, teachers, and program staff and share any partner feedback or concerns with City Green staff
• Travel between garden sites using City Green vehicles
• Perform daily program data collection
• Follow organizational policies and standards for safety and liability

Preferred Skills:

• Some direct experience working with children
• Some direct experience working with older adults
• Spanish-speaking ability
• Basic knowledge of garden concepts and vegetable plant identification.
• Comfortable working outside in all weather and capable of lifting 40 pounds
• Flexible, patient, and comfortable adapting lessons to fit participant and partner needs
• Able to make garden activities accessible to different age groups, ability levels and disabilities

Position Requirements:

• Must have a valid driver’s license of the state you reside in, at least 2 years driving experience, and be at least 19 years old. Employee’s driver history must meet City Green’s insurance policy safe driving requirements.
• Undergo a background check

Hours and Compensation :

• Lead Educators are paid $18.50 – $21/hour
• Positions are available ranging from 25 – 35 hours per week.  March – November commitment is required.
• Start date is April 1st, 2026
• Programs take place between the hours of 8AM-6PM Monday through Thursday,  8AM – 3PM on Fridays, and some Saturdays.  Schedules will vary based on the programs Lead Garden Educators implement.
• Lead Garden Educators must be available some Saturdays and Evenings.

Diversity is a core value of City Green.  We believe the power of diversity enriches all of us by exposing us to a range of ways to understand and engage with the world, identify challenges, and to discover, design and deliver solutions. City Green is committed to working to build and sustain an equitable and inclusive work environment where diversity is celebrated and valued. We believe diversity benefits and enriches the development of all of our staff, partners, supporters, and community.

To apply,

• Visit www.citygreenonline.org/careers to apply
• Fill out the online Application and upload resume
• Please contact us at 973-869-4086 or opportunities@city-green.org with any questions.

City Green is a non-profit Youth Serving Organization. As such we require all employees to receive a recommendation of approval for employment from the New Jersey State Police through State and Federal Fingerprint-Based Criminal History Record Check. Once a candidate has been offered employment by City Green, we will provide instructions to obtain the required documentation.