Educator & Garden Coordinator

JOB DESCRIPTION

Educator and Garden Coordinator

Full Time, Exempt

Start Date: August 17th

In-Person Teaching in Beacon, NY with remote work and weekly in-person office work at the LtL office in Newburgh. Weekly gardening work in Beacon and Newburgh May-September, and occasional garden work in Kingston.

Pay Rate and Benefits: Salary based on an annual rate of $49,088. Plus a wellness stipend of $5,400 and a travel stipend of $325 annually. PTO benefits include 13 sick/personal days, 10 vacation days and 28 office holidays per calendar year.

About Land to Learn

Our mission: Land to Learn cultivates connection to food, land, and community by engaging youth in hands-on, garden-based education that nourishes health, ecological awareness, and collective well-being.

Our flagship program, SproutEd, brings garden-based learning to Kindergarten through 3rd grade students in 11 Hudson Valley schools.

About Our Values

Land to Learn is a values-driven organization. As an organization, we try to approach our work with an awareness of current and historic institutional oppressions perpetuated by—and ingrained in—the educational system. Land to Learn values lived experiences and organic knowledge with equal measure to institutional knowledge. To this end, we utilize educational philosophies rooted in democratic principles and hands-on experiences. Learn more about our approach here. We also value Restorative and Transformative Justice practices in educational community-building and conflict resolution. We honor the wisdom and work of those who have led us here while valuing innovation and embracing change. Learn more about Land to Learn at our website.

Position Overview

This position is a mix of teaching in two Beacon elementary schools, general program coordination, and garden coordination in the three communities we serve (Beacon, Newburgh, Kingston). We build and maintain school gardens that serve as outdoor classrooms. Educators teach lessons during the school day throughout the entire school year (indoor in the winter), that educate students in gardening, nutrition, cooking, plant science, ecology, and food systems. Our curriculum is experiential and hands-on, offering students a fun, engaging way to apply their academic and social-emotional skills. There is also a substantial amount of garden work required of this position. The ideal candidate has experience with teaching and gardening, or garden education or outdoor education. This position reports to Land to Learn’s Program Director.

Roles and Responsibilities

SproutEd Educator ( 30%)

• Teaching and Lessons
  • Facilitate lessons with kindergarten, first, second, and 3rd grade classes using LtL’s established curriculum and teaching methodologies at 2 elementary schools, approximately eight 45-minute lessons per week
  • Participate in weekly in-person team meetings at the LtL office in Newburgh
  • Manage schedule of lessons
  • Maintain regular communication with teachers and school administrators
  • Adapt lessons, as needed, for specific classes and situations
  • Participate in related trainings, conferences, and professional development
  • Record photos, anecdotes, quotes, and other information and input data
  • Purchase materials for programs as needed
  • Manage various materials for your lessons
• Garden Maintenance
  • Maintain school gardens with guidance and support from LtL’s Program Director. Perform all necessary tasks for growing crops and creating an educational space, including planting (both with and without students), watering, weeding, laying out wood chips for pathways and mulch hay for planting areas, etc.
    • Tasks often include moderately heavy labor, such as shoveling and carting soil and woodchips
  • Use personal vehicle to transport gardening and educational supplies between schools
  • Assist with larger garden projects at other LtL sites in Newburgh, Beacon, and Kingston
• School Community Outreach
  • Serve as the SproutEd liaison and representative for your partner schools, developing relationships with students, teachers, administrative staff, maintenance staff, and families
  • Work with volunteers in programming and gardens
  • Attend community events to build partnerships and provide information about LtL programming
  • Coordinate and participate in developing a school culture of gardening and eating fresh fruits and vegetables
• Workplace Culture
  • Participate in regular accountability check-ins, program meetings, and organizational events
  • Share your wisdom and collaboratively build workplace culture

Additional Programming (30%)

• Afterschool
  • Facilitate seasonal weekly afterschool programming during the school year in Beacon and/or Newburgh
• Summer Camp
  • Serve as a lead educator for our two week Summer Sprouts day camp in late August in Beacon

Garden Coordinator (40 %)

• Purchase necessary materials for garden maintenance
  • Purchase seeds and seedlings for SproutEd gardens
  • Purchase, inventory, and distribute tools and other materials to teammembers
• Maintain material donation records and requests
  • Solicit donations of garden items from local vendors
• Coordinate and attend seasonal garden work parties for SproutEd gardens
  • Work with garden educators to plan and implement garden work
• Support Newburgh gardens 1-2 days/ wk from May-September
  • Help to weed, water, plant, and maintain 4 of our Newburgh gardens alongside educators, in addition to the 2 Beacon school gardens for which this position is responsible

Required skills

• Experience with and enthusiasm for leading organized activities with groups of young children, preferably in a public school setting
• Experience with outdoor education
• Experience with gardening and growing food
• Desire to build skills in gardening and growing food
• Desire to build relationships with students and teachers
• Ability to bring democratic teaching principles into learning spaces
• Ability to work outside in various weather conditions
• Ability to work both independently and alongside classroom teachers
• Ability to work collaboratively with a team and practice open communication
• Commitment to social justice, including food justice and education justice
• Commitment to finding teaching innovations that are equitable and inclusive of students’ needs
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to pay attention to detail
• Because we work in public schools, candidates must follow all New York State and district-specific requirements for working in schools, including any vaccine requirements and background checks
• Must be able to lift at least 30 pounds
• Access to a personal vehicle is required for this position. A travel stipend is provided. Must be willing to use personal vehicle for transporting educational and gardening materials.

Preferred skills

• Understanding of and passion for food justice and localized food systems
• Experience in nonprofit work or management is a plus, but not required
• Experience working or volunteering in the public school system
• Familiarity with Google Workspace (Gmail, Drive, Docs, and Sheets.)

Additional Perks

• Collaborate with a values-driven team committed to iterative learning, working, and story-telling
• You will have the opportunity to laugh a lot
• Work with diverse community partners who are passionate activators in food sovereignty, environmental justice, and community wellness
• Participate in a team implementing experiential, democratic, and place-based learning that engages young people in math, science, nature and wellness through the action and power of growing their own food
• Enjoy fresh, organic garden produce

How to Apply

To apply, please send a thoughtful cover letter that speaks to how your experience and skill-set meet the qualifications for this role. Please also include a resume and 2 professional contacts that can speak to your experience and work style. We will not contact them without speaking to you first. Email your materials to Mara Estes at mara@landtolearn.org or mail to Land to Learn, PO Box 223 Beacon, NY 12508

We aim to fill this position by July 23rd, 2026.

The application process will remain open until the position is filled.

LtL is committed to upholding a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace. People of Color, and individuals who are Queer, Trans, and Gender-nonconforming are strongly encouraged to apply. We strive for inclusivity for all team members - examining what this means through an equity and justice lens. All are welcome in celebration of national, religious, ethnic, and gender diversity, disability, intersectionality, and complexity of systems-impact.

PTO benefits include 13 sick/personal days, 10 vacation days and 28 office holidays per calendar year.