TORONTO JOBS & SUMMER JOBS

Hiring: Gardener – Entry Level
Company: The Backyard Urban Farm Company (BUFCO)
Location: Toronto, Ontario

Company Profile

The Backyard Urban Farm Company (BUFCO) is an award winning, family-run, organic vegetable landscaping company that designs, installs, plants and maintains edible and native pollinator flower gardens for residential and commercial clients throughout the Toronto area. We empower urbanites to grow their own food and help them to reconnect with nature.

We develop and elevate committed, self-motivated nature-lovers who want to build a career in the organic land care profession. We provide challenging opportunities for all team members to enhance their skills, develop their interests, and test their limits in an encouraging, supportive, equitable and fun environment.

We strongly value and believe in diversity, and encourage all to apply. If the opportunity to join our team excites you, and you are driven to provide excellence in every endeavor, then BUFCO is the home for you.

Position Summary:

As a BUFCO Gardener you are responsible for working as part of the gardening team, planting and maintaining beautiful, bountiful, incredible, edible gardens, as well as some pollinator and ornamental gardens. You will increase your already existing knowledge of organic growing methodologies and sustainable practices, and will assist the garden supervisor in helping to guide and coach our clients on basic vegetable, flower, and ornamental garden care.

Vegetable gardening is new to many of our clients who will look to the Gardening Team for information and inspiration. You will provide the highest quality work with great attention to detail, and participate in bringing a strong, unique aesthetic vision to their garden.

Responsibilities:

Primary

• Plant, maintain, and harvest gardens.
• Responsible for taking detailed notes of work accomplished and materials used during every client visit.
• Load and prepare the truck for daily activities.
• Drive and/or help navigate from location to location.
• Assist in maintaining seed, seedlings, and gardening input inventories.
• Maintain quality service by exhibiting and fulfilling BUFCO’s standards.

Secondary

• Maintain good working condition of all gardening tools, supplies, storage facilities including maintaining a clean, organized, safe and presentable work vehicle.
• Maintain and organize physical and digital client folders.
• Assist in other garden care, as well as attending to administrative and other organizational tasks as requested.
• Some client coaching and instruction of both adults and children.
• Assist in the care and maintenance of seedlings in our greenhouse as needed.

Occasional

• Assist in the delivery of workshops and other presentations as required.
• Participate in larger garden infrastructure and landscaping installations.

Skills and Qualifications:

• An excellent listener with strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Passionate about growing food and urban agriculture.
• A love of being outdoors, rain or shine.
• Reliable and punctual.
• Good knowledge of the Toronto area with the ability to attend a variety of locations on your own.
• Able to take directions and follow through on direction.
• Able to work cooperatively in a team environment and as well independently.
• Able to take initiative and pursue self-directed tasks.
• Intermediate to advance knowledge of technology and smart phone savvy.
• Experience with Google Suite (Drive, Sheets, Docs, Calendar, Maps) is a plus.
• Able to operate a variety of vehicles with confidence, including small trucks/vans.

Education and Experience:

• Some gardening experience, horticulture training.
• At least 1-year experience working with vegetable gardens, which can include your own home-based gardens.
• Some knowledge of organic gardening methodologies including plant identification, pest and disease recognition and remediation.
• Customer service experience is an asset.

Additional Job Requirements:

• Combination of sitting, standing, walking, bending, crouching, kneeling is required.
• This is a physically demanding job.
• First Aid and Health and Safety training is beneficial.
• A valid G-class license and clean driving record is required.
• Able to be adaptable and flexible with changing weather and daily schedules, accepting that some days may be longer than other days.
• Some weekend work may be required.
• Photography skills are an asset.

Apply:

Submit all resumes to: admin@bufco.ca

Please indicate you saw this posting at FoodWork.

Compensation: Hourly range is $19.00 per hour
Position: Seasonal – Full-time, short contract with possibility of extension
Start Date: April 3, 2023