Camp Celo Garden Apprentice

Job Description and application information

The garden apprentice position for the summer of 2023 has been filled. However, the Camp Celo experience is centered around the farm and garden and Helpers and Counselors teach children to harvest from and appreciate the garden. Please consider applying as a Helper or Counselor.

About Camp Celo

Camp Celo is a family-run summer camp for kids ages 7-14, located on a fully-operating family farm in western North Carolina. The kids experience the mountains and farm as part of a camp community that shares the Quaker values of simplicity, equality, care for the Earth, integrity, peace, and community. Visit us at www.campcelo.com for more information about our program.

The Camp Celo Farm

The Camp Celo Farm includes 16 acres made up of woods, pasture and a large vegetable and flower garden. We also keep goats, cows, chickens, pigs, and rabbits. All food from our 1.5 acre garden goes directly to the camp kitchen to be prepared fresh for the campers and staff. The garden is a central part of the camp community and typically provides to the kitchen about 5,000 pounds of vegetables each summer. The garden currently utilizes organic, biodynamic, and a mix of no-till and tillage-based farming methods.

In addition to providing a beautiful setting for the camp and producing much of our food, the farm provides campers with an opportunity to participate in a working farm. The garden is host to numerous activities and chores with campers. Such activities may include group harvesting, threshing and grinding wheat, drawing or writing poetry, braiding onions, hanging garlic, observing and counting pollinators, among others.

Apprenticeship Description

The Garden Apprentice is an integral part of the seasonal staff at Camp Celo. The Garden Apprentice will work alongside the Garden Managers in all aspects of garden care and garden-related camp programming. Garden work includes seeding, weeding, bed preparation, pest and disease management, harvesting, and more. There will also be opportunities to care for the livestock. This position is designed to be an educational apprenticeship to help deepen the apprentice’s understanding of organic farming methods. Expect the work to be difficult but rewarding.

During camp sessions, the Garden Apprentice will also assist Garden Managers and Counselors in hosting groups of campers through activities in the garden; some will be focused on a work task, and others will be fun, creative activities that take place in the garden.

This position is 30 hours per week. The hours will primarily occur during the standard workweek, but will occasionally extend into the evenings or weekends depending on weather and camp scheduling.

Key Responsibilities:

  • Help to create a welcoming and inspirational vegetable garden that is ecologically diverse, kid friendly, safe, and well tended
  • Contribute to all aspects of vegetable production, including but not limited to: seeding, planting, cultivating, harvesting, and end of season cleanup
  • Provide support and leadership to camp staff as they interact with campers in the garden
  • Create and help lead garden-related activities and chores for campers
  • Help lead work groups of high-school aged Helpers during the summer
  • Assist with livestock chores as needed

Necessary Skills and Experience:

  • Desire to learn about sustainable agriculture
  • Ability to lift 40lbs
  • Cheerful, flexible attitude
  • Effective communication skills
  • Ability to learn on the job
  • Ability to work independently and in groups
  • Ability to lead others through tasks
  • Desire to work with children and teenagers
  • Commitment to living in an alcohol, smoke, and drug free community
  • Clear Background Check

Compensation

Educational experience contributing to the apprentice’s overall knowledge of organic, biodynamic, and no-till vegetable farming systems. Access to high quality vegetables, fruits, grains, and eggs produced by the garden. During camp season (6/9 through 8/23), 3 meals per day will be served at the Camp Celo dining hall. If needed, basic lodging can be provided in a private cabin in the woods. A monthly stipend will be provided: $600 plus housing, or $800 without housing.

Application Process

Questions and application inquiries can be sent to the farm managers Olivia and Rocky Ramos at olivia@campcelo.com

 

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