Summer Fellows

CitySprouts is seeking qualified and energetic college students to provide essential support to CitySprouts summer youth program. We expect to accept up to six college students as CitySprouts Summer Fellows for nine weeks in summer 2012. Summer Fellows can expect to gain hands-on experience working with youth, in garden-based learning in a public school setting, and urban agriculture. This is an un-paid summer internship.

CitySprouts’ Summer Program provides young teens with an intensive month growing and harvesting food in an urban garden, expanding their first-hand experience preparing and eating healthy food and fostering a strong connection to their natural urban environment. The program is divided into two sessions for up to 100 youth interns, rising 6th to rising 9h graders. Youth interns spend Monday-Thursday, 9am-12pm, in the school garden or on field trips to farms or community service organizations in the Boston area.

As Summer Fellows, college students will spend the summer in dynamic urban food gardens, delivering educational and leadership building programming to youth ages 11-14. Summer Fellows are mentors to youth, and help plan and lead lessons and activities relating to gardening, food and nutrition, environment and community service. Summer Fellows are paired with an experienced CitySprouts garden coordinator as an active assistant in the morning program. In the afternoon, Summer Fellows work as a team under the supervision of an experienced gardener to care for the school district’s 12 school gardens.

CitySprouts Summer Fellows can expect a significant learning opportunity as well as opportunities for career exploration. In addition to working closely with CitySprouts staff to lead the two month-long sessions for youth, Fellows will also:

  • Receive a week of training in urban agriculture, techniques for teaching about food and the environment, and strategies for managing youth groups in an outdoor setting
  • Take part in weekly trainings throughout the summer that will focus on further developing Fellows’ skills and provide an opportunity to reflect on experiences
  • Document summer program activities for outreach, evaluation and reflection

Because Fellows are central to our summer staffing and the success of our summer youth program, we ask them to commit to the full 9 week time period.

Location: Cambridge, MA

Dates: June 18 ‐ August 16, 2012

Hours: Monday‐Thursday, 8:30 ‐ 4:30 (30 hours/week)

Compensation: Unpaid. Applicants receiving funding and/or course credit will be given preference in selection process.

Send resume and letter of interest by March 1st, 2012 to:

Kim Goldstein, Program Manager

kgoldstein@citysprouts.org

Note: write “Summer Fellow” in the subject line. Indicate in your letter if you are applying for credit or funding from your college.

Summer Fellow Responsibilities:

Youth Development and Education

  1. Assist a Garden Coordinator in teaching a team of summer middle school interns about growing food, garden care, healthy cooking, and the natural environment
  2. Work with a Garden Coordinator to plan activities for interns relating to food systems, nutrition, sustainable agriculture, and community service.
  3. Mentor middle school youth and encourage their leadership skills.
  4. Chaperone youth on field trips to local farms, food pantries and restaurants.
  5. Design and lead a short series of lessons and activities

Garden Skills

  1. As part of an afternoon garden maintenance crew, perform routine tasks such as watering, weeding, harvesting and re-planting
  2. Complete special garden maintenance and construction projects.

Outreach/Communication

  1. Assist with communications, i.e. updating garden blogs
  2. Represent CitySprouts at outreach events and fundraisers as needed.
  3. Document summer intern program activities through write‐ups and photos.
  4. Additional office support tasks, as needed.

Expectations:

CitySprouts Summer Fellowship is an opportunity for college students to gain first-hand experience working with youth in urban gardens, learning and teaching about local food systems and being in the heart of a growing nonprofit organization. Summer Fellows will be given significant responsibility toward making the summer program a successful experience for the 100 youth participants, as well as in representing CitySprouts to young people, families and the larger community. We expect Summer Fellows to

  • Be curious, open and willing to try new things
  • Express enthusiasm for the CitySprouts program in the garden, in the neighborhood and on field trips
  • Approach the physical labor of garden maintenance with energy and a positive attitude
  • Remember the impact Fellows have on their impressionable youth teams and foster a respectful attitude between youth, other Fellows and CitySprouts staff
  • Maintain a professional attitude within the organization and outwardly to the community, including arriving to work on time, attending scheduled meetings and a timely response to communications