Urban Agriculture Coordinator: Garden Education

We are currently looking for a Garden Education & Engagement Coordinator who will be responsible for our multifaceted school garden education projects. This Coordinator’s role is to bring together community members, public elementary and high schools and community organizations in the NDG-CDN district through urban agriculture activities in schools, collective gardens (for more info on gardens) and our centre’s spaces. The Garden Education and Engagement Coordinator will be supported by the Urban Agriculture Manager as well as by The Depot's multidisciplinary team.

Who we are:

Founded in 1986, The Depot Community Food Centre is a nonprofit food security organization located in the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighbourhood of Montreal. At The Depot, nutritious and delicious food fuels solidarity. Our community programs bring people together to grow, cook, share, and mobilize to end food insecurity. We envision a thriving and connected community where nourishing food is accessible and realized as a basic human right. Nationally, we are part of Community Food Centres Canada (CFCC), a united voice advocating for lasting change through progressive public policy.

Participants at The Depot have access to food that’s fresh, nourishing, and culturally relevant. They build skills, improve their health, make social connections, and contribute to their communities. They also have the opportunity to volunteer to support our programs and engage in advocacy work aimed at dismantling systemic barriers faced by low-income community members. To learn more, come visit us

The Depot is committed to creating an organizational culture rooted in our core values. We are actively working to embed anti-oppression and anti-racism in our practices, acknowledging that this is an ongoing process of learning and growth. As part of this journey, we strive to build a team that reflects the diverse identities and lived experiences of NDG, ensuring that our work remains community-driven and inclusive.

Key Responsibilities & Tasks:

Ça pousse! School Project Coordination

• Develop partnerships with community stakeholders:
  • Meet with schools in NDG/CDN in order to maintain or build partnerships, bring our programming into schools and offer support in the development of school gardens;
  • Strengthen community networks by building partnerships with local community organizations to collaborate on common projects and goals.
• Coordinating school workshops:
  • Collaborate with school principals and teachers to plan and schedule their workshops;
  • Collaborate with the Urban Agriculture Manager to purchase material and equipment;
  • Prepare and coordinate the delivery of workshop materials for the Ça pousse! facilitation team;
• Supervise and train our interns and learning positions;
• Coordinate with, as well as provide training opportunities for, the consultant facilitation team;
• Coordinate the logistics for the construction and maintenance of the school gardens;
• Develop and coordinate a support program for the maintenance of school gardens during the summer period;
• Maintain program budget and conduct basic bookkeeping for Ça pousse!, in collaboration with the Urban Agriculture Manager:
  • Create invoices and process fees for workshops and school garden construction;
  • Contribute to the research and writing of grant applications to support the Ça pousse! project in collaboration with the development team and schools;
• Ensure event and activity communications across the UA and The Depot teams and program participants;
• Develop evaluation strategies to measure project impact;
• Write the annual and other necessary reports;
• Contribute to the visioning and planning for the sustainability of Ça pousse!

Public Workshop Series Administration

• Create promotional materials and communications for the UA workshop series with the support of the Communications Coordinator;
• Ensure the cross-pollination of communications across the UA and The Depot teams and program participants;
• Process workshop registrations for our public and school workshops;
• Ensure the continuous improvement of the content of our educational workshops.

Horticulture and General Support

• Facilitate garden sessions in school and collective gardens as needed;
• Provide horticultural support to the general UA team as needed;
• Link garden education and engagement to The Depot’s overall strategy;
• Participate in one-on-one meetings with the Urban Agriculture Manager and in team meetings and activities;
• Support other programs as needed.

Required profile:

• Experience in developing and maintaining good relationships with project partners;
• Excellent communication and interpersonal-relationship skills;
• Excellent organizational skills and demonstrated ability to prioritize workload activities;
• Self-motivated and able to work both autonomously and within a team;
• Experience in providing team coordination, orientation and support;
• Experience in effective community organizing including engagement, popular education and participatory program design;
• Strong computer literacy and knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite & Google Drive;
• Strong knowledge of and experience in urban agriculture and horticulture and able to transmit this knowledge in gardens and in school contexts;
• Demonstrated skills in facilitation across age groups (children, young people, adults, seniors) and with people from different backgrounds and socio demographic situations;
• Proficiency in French and English, written and oral;
• Passion for justice and anti-oppression work.

Other Requirements:

• Must have a valid driver's license and be comfortable driving.

Other Assets (useful but not required):

• Knowledge of the NDG community and/or experience working in community organizations;
• Interest in food systems and/or food security issues;
• Experience in program evaluation and reporting;
• Basic understanding of, or familiarity within, school / teacher / classroom contexts;
• Basic experience with budget monitoring and bookkeeping;
• Experience coordinating, training and supporting a team;
• Experience in event coordination;
• Experience with Salesforce, Slack or planning and organization software;
• Experience or familiarity with construction of simple installations in urban gardens;
• Commitment to the creation of safe learning environments and the collaboration toward a more just and ecological future;
• Comfort driving a cube truck (regular license).

Our Offer:

• $26/h salaried, full-time, 35h/week;
• Occasional work on weekends and evenings;
• Start date: February 17, 2025;
• Vacation pay (4%), up to 2 weeks of additional time off in December, sick leave and personal days during the term of the contract;
• A positive work environment with motivated staff and a strong work ethic.

To Apply:

Please send your CV and cover letter by email to emploi@depotndg.org.

• This is a rolling application process we will be reviewing applications as they come in, so please apply as soon as possible! We thank all applicants for their interest. However, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

Tips for applying: click here

If you have questions about the job or the application process, please contact Kristen at ag.urbaine@depotndg.org.

We encourage you to apply even if you don't meet ALL of the qualifications we're looking for. Let us know why you are up to the task.