Garden Assistant

The Bob Burdette Center is a small nonprofit on Charleston's West Side that runs free after-school programs for children in grades K-5. We also grow a teaching garden at our Washington Street site, now in its third season, and the vegetables that come out of it go straight into the meals we serve our kids. We need someone steady to help us keep it healthy.

What this job really is:

You take care of the garden. That means weeding, watering when the weather calls for it, pruning, picking produce when it comes in, running a weedeater along the edges, and keeping the whole space in good shape. You work under our Lead Gardener, who decides what goes in the ground and what gets pruned. Your job is to carry out those decisions and keep the beds in good order. There is real variety across the year: fall is planting and harvest, winter is getting the beds ready for next season, spring is heavy, and summer is intense.

This is about twenty hours a week, most weeks, year-round. Right now the garden has gotten ahead of us - the first few weeks are weeds, and there is a fall crop to plant behind them. It is real work and we are not going to pretend otherwise. Extra hours are available through the end of September if you want them.

Who we are hoping to meet:

- Reliable above everything else - you turn up on the days you say you will, and the garden can count on you

- Comfortable working outside in real heat and real cold, because the garden does not pause for weather

- Able to run a weedeater safely, gas or battery, and willing to learn ours if you have only used one kind

- Happy to take direction - our Lead Gardener decides what the garden needs, and you make it happen

- Content working quietly and independently for stretches at a time

- No gardening background required. If you have one it is welcome, and if you do not, we will teach you what you need

The practical must-haves:

- Able to pass a background check and fingerprinting, since the garden sits on grounds where we serve children - the Center pays for both

- Physically up for the work: bending, kneeling, standing for a few hours, lifting a bag of soil, dragging a hose

- Authorized to work in the United States

The details:

- $12-14 per hour, with the higher end for someone who brings weedeater experience and a real record of reliability. Pay advances after your probationary period

- About twenty hours a week year-round, with extra hours available through the end of September

- You set your own hours with our Lead Gardener. Nights and weekends are never required, and they are yours if they work better for you. What matters is that the work gets done and your time goes into our timekeeping system

- We provide every tool you need, so nothing comes out of your pocket

- Now and then we need a supply run. If you make one, we reimburse mileage at our standard rate

- Rain days are simply skipped

- Take home produce from the garden, within reason - one of the better parts of the job

To apply: tell us a little about yourself, and share one short story about a time you stuck with something outdoors that turned out harder than you expected. We would love to hear it.

The Bob Burdette Center is an equal opportunity employer.

Pay: $12.00 - $14.00 per hour

Benefits:

• Flexible schedule

People with a criminal record are encouraged to apply

Application Question(s):

• Can you commit to about twenty hours a week, year-round?
• Are you able to do physical outdoor work for several hours in heat and cold?
• Have you used a gas or battery weedeater?

Work Location: In person

Salary : $12 - $14