The Student's Society of McGill University (SSMU) is currently hiring. With over 20,000 members, SSMU's role is to represent students and to offer services since 1908.

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Comptant plus de 20,000 membres, le rôle de l’AÉUM a été de représenter les étudiants de premier cycle et de leur offrir des services depuis l’année 1908. 

Campus Crops is a group of students who maintain the CampusCrops garden (behind the McGill School of Environment), the ECOLE gardens (in front of ECOLE and behind), and the SSMU Daycare gardens. 

The group functions as a community group where McGill community members of any role from student to staff to alumni come and partake in each growing season. It also serves as an educational group that teaches the community how to garden themselves and the importance of urban agriculture in our rapidly warming world.

This work includes planning and running all related aspects of the garden during the gardening season, organising community events and workshops to encourage students to participate and to educate the community, and lastly working closely with the McGill daycare by providing weekly lessons to a group of ~20 children (3-5).

• Logistics & Planning

  1. Develop a timeline and plan for desired crops and spatially map out all garden beds (creating a map of the gardens - digital or physical);

  2. Devise a rough schedule from start to end of your contract for the entire growing season;

  3. Collect all necessary supplies, and source funding or donations where needed, such as seeds and seedlings as well as additional soil and fertiliser when applicable;

  4. Germinate and/or purchase seedlings;

  5. Be in touch with stakeholders involved to ensure agreement and understanding of seasonal plans (e.g. ECOLE Coordinator & Daycare Director);

  6. Recruit Volunteer Gardeners from the community (McGill students, staff, faculty, alumni, and members of the greater Milton Parc community);

  7. Make sure all plans, meeting minutes, etc. are in the community Google Drive folder for access by Volunteers;

  8. Create a winter plan for after your contract’s end and ensure to leave relevant documentation for continuity for the next year’s Coordinators ;

     1. Assist with the hiring process for the new coordinators.

• Ensure the gardens are tended throughout all stages of the season

  1. Facilitate bed preparation and planting;

  2. Work with volunteers to make maintenance schedules;

     1. This could include plans for second crop planting where applicable;

     2. Ensure gardens are maintained (watered, de-weeded, pruned, etc.) on a weekly basis;

  3. Ensure produce is harvested when ripe and not wasted and that food is distributed equitably amongst coordinators volunteers and general stakeholders;

     1. Where applicable, surplus food can be donated to community groups;

  4. Coordinate winterisation of beds.

• Education in the SSMU Daycare

  1. Offer age-appropriate lessons related to gardening for SSMU Daycare children;

     1. Weekly lessons that are unique (fertiliser, soil health, pollinators, bugs, seed life cycle, etc.);

     2. Organize field trips (with the daycare staff) to visit other campus gardens ;

  2. Work with daycare staff to plan scheduling and content.

• Educating the community on gardening & urban agriculture

  1. Involve community members in the gardening process from start to finish by facilitating a campus crops volunteer group;

  2. Create events for starting seeds, planting the garden, garden maintenance, and harvests;

  3. Educate students on the importance of urban agriculture;

  4. Be a resource to students with urban agriculture-related questions.

1. 1-2 years minimum of experience in growing produce (could be homegrown produce);

2. Experiential knowledge in how to plan timing, spacing, soil maintenance, plant maintenance, end of season care etc.;

3. Ability to carry bags of soil, buckets of water, etc.;

4. Ability to prioritise tasks based on importance and seasonal change;

5. Ability to plan time efficiently on a daily, weekly, monthly, and seasonal basis;

6. Ability to work in a pair and support your fellow Coordinator;

7. Aptitude to foster a sense of community and belonging amongst the season’s volunteer gardeners;

8. Desire to help people learn gardening skills and insights;

9. Required for working with children: pass a police background check during the hiring process;

10. 1+ years of experience working with children in an educational setting;

11. A desire to support early education in areas of gardening, food security, or related areas.

• Paid position: $15.65 per hour;
• Contract until - May 31st, 2025
• Hours: an average of 10 hours per week from April - October and a limited number during winter to plan for the following year;
• Application closes April 30th, 2024
• Must pass a background check to work with the Daycare.

At the SSMU, we are committed to fostering an inclusive, accessible environment, where everyone feels valued, respected and supported. We are dedicated to building a workforce that reflects the diversity of our community. If you require accommodation(s) for the recruitment/interview process, please let us know and we will work with you to meet your needs.

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A l’AÉUM, nous sommes engagés à promouvoir un environnement inclusif et accessible où
tout le monde se sent estimé, respecté et supporté. Nous sommes attachés à construire une
équipe dont les effectifs témoignent de la diversité de notre communauté. Si vous avez
besoin d’aménagements au cours du processus de recrutement ou d’entrevue, s’il vous plait,
faites-le nous savoir et nous travaillerons avec vous afin de répondre à vos besoins.