Position Location: South Vancouver (July and August) and Coquitlam (August; not all staff will work in Coquitlam)

Application Deadline: Apply by February 2; group interview to be held February 8 in Vancouver

Position Dates: June 27-Aug 30. 4-day weekend August 2-5

Pay Rate: $18.50-$19.00/hr. All seasonal staff receive paid sick leave.

Hours of work: Monday-Friday, 8:15-5:30. Average of 40 hours/week; some weeks may be up to 45 hours during July

IMPORTANT NOTE: Position is pending funding, which may alter final employment contracts. This is a Canada Summer Jobs position. Applicants must be 30 or under, eligible to work in Canada, and a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or have refugee status. 

The Position

If you love seeing kids find joy in holding worms or discover that kale is their favorite food, if you have a favorite silly vegetable song or game, and if you think camp is the best part of summer, this might be the position for you! Day Camp Facilitators will facilitate Camp Fresh Roots programming for kids ages 4-12 at our Vancouver and Coquitlam schoolyard farms. Our camp programming includes educational activities, games, songs, farm work, harvesting, cooking, and sharing food, field trips, and more. Day Camp Facilitators will work as part of a small team to lead a mix of pre-planned and camper-directed activities, with the opportunity for you to create programming you’re passionate about. 

Job Duties

• Follow all camp policies and procedures to ensure camper health and safety.
• Maintain a fun, nurturing, and joyful camp environment for all campers
• Lead engaging, age-appropriate programming that fits the camp philosophy
• Provide guidance and supervision to campers, including helping campers solve their own problems and disagreements
• Role model making good choices and trying new things
• Work with the Camp Directors and other Camp Staff to plan activities and create or acquire program materials
• Coordinate use of farm space and materials with other Camp Staff and share space appropriately with other Fresh Roots teams
• Complete incident reports and other paperwork in a timely manner
• Give and receive peer feedback

Qualifications

• Experience working with kids required (teaching, volunteering, babysitting, etc.)
  • Experience working with neurodivergent kids and kids with learning differences a plus
• Passion for farm, food, outdoor, and/or environmental education
• Outgoing, energetic, and unafraid to be silly
• Education and/or experience in teaching, gardening, cooking, ecology, theater, or related fields preferred
• Physically able to work outdoors in all weather conditions for up to 9 hours a day
• Able to follow policies and procedures to ensure camper and staff health and safety
• Ability to speak multiple languages a plus. Languages frequently spoken in our communities include Cantonese, Mandarin, Spanish, Tagalog, Punjabi, Farsi, French, and Ukrainian.
• Current First Aid, including Child and Infant CPR, will be required before position starts; funding for this training may be available
• Must pass a criminal record check to be able to work with children and vulnerable populations
• Due to funding, must meet Canada Summer Jobs Requirements:
  
  • Between 17 (position minimum) and 30 years old
  • A Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or have refugee status
  • Eligible to work in Canada
• COVID-19 vaccination is strongly recommended for the health of staff and campers.

Compensation Package

Pay: $18.50 starting rate, plus 4% in lieu of vacation

Paid Sick Leave

On the job training and professional development workshops

Discount on produce and access to culls

How to Apply

Fresh Roots is committed to employment equity and encourages applications from underrepresented groups.

Submit a resume, a short cover letter OR video introduction, and names, phone number, and email address information for 3 references who are not friends or family members (coaches, teachers, mentors, work or volunteer supervisors are all great). At least one reference should be able to speak to your experience with kids. 

Your cover letter or video should

• introduce yourself
• share why you want this position
• share what you hope to gain from the position if hired.

Videos should be no more than 3 minutes, and must be shared via a link in the “website, blog, or portfolio” line. Cover letters should be no more than 500 words and must be uploaded as a document. Please note that we are not judging videos based on your video editing skills, and neither videos nor cover letters are preferred. Choose the option that best lets you shine.

A group interview will be held on February 8 in Vancouver. If you are unable to attend, Zoom interviews will be scheduled the week of February 10.

We regret that due to the high volume of applicants only those selected for interviews will be contacted.

About Camp Fresh Roots

Camp Fresh Roots offers joyful, risk-aware day camp programming led by well-trained, caring staff on Fresh Roots schoolyard farms and food lands in South Vancouver and Coquitlam. We welcome approximately 300 campers each summer from a wide variety of backgrounds and abilities, and we offer sliding scale registration to make our camps as accessible as possible. Staff receive 40 hours of training, including in depth training on health and safety, camp programming, and diversity and inclusion. Learn more about the camp at freshroots.ca/camp. 

About Fresh Roots

Our schoolyard farms are the fertile ground for both delicious food and powerful learning. Fresh Roots practices and inspires not only sustainable, community-centered farming, but place-based experiential learning and youth empowerment. By partnering with schools and school districts, we take under-utilised land and transform it into thriving agroecosystems, increasing the availability of fresh local produce for our neighbours. We also create dynamic inclusive learning spaces for people of all ages, but especially children and youth, to learn about food and the ecological and human systems that support the food we all depend on.