DeLaney Community Farm

 

Start Date:            May or June 2007

End Date:            August or September – based on individual requirements and needs

                           **Start/End Dates are Negotiable**

 

Hours:                 32 hours/week, 7 a.m.- 3:00 p.m., (occasional Saturdays and Sundays)

Benefits:                 Bi-weekly pay, possible credit towards course work (also considered an internship), organic agriculture

                                training, free organic produce

 

Job Description:     Will work with the Farm Manager in the following activities:

 

á       Organically planting, cultivating, and harvesting vegetables, herbs, flowers, and other crops

á       Selling produce at FarmerŐs Markets and distributing produce to shareholders

á       Turning, building, and managing the compost system

á       Supervising youth, adult, and community workgroups

á       Educating youth about organic gardening and composting

á       Constructing farm related structures

á       Constructing and maintaining irrigation systems

á       Promoting the Somali Bantu Farming Council of Colorado (a Somalian refugee group), by working on current Marketing Grant, and selling produce to restaurants, catering companies, at FarmerŐs Markets and other events

á       Keeping a journal to record the summerŐs events

á       Maintaining enthusiasm about the DeLaney Community Farm 

 

Please send resume, letter of interest, and 3 References by March 10, 2007 to: Denver Urban Gardens                                                                                                                                                         Attention:  Heather DeLong                                                                                                 

                           3377 Blake St., Suite 113

                                                                                                                 Denver, CO  80205

                                                                                                           

                                    Email: heather@dug.org

                                                                                                               Fax: 303.292.9911

 

                                                                                                 

 

Denver Urban Gardens (DUG) is a nonprofit corporation with the sole responsibility to build and manage over 70 community gardens in the Denver-metro area and the DeLaney Community Farm in Aurora, located approximately 20 minutes outside Denver. The DUG gardens provide food and green space for low-income persons, affecting approximately 20,00 individuals.  In addition, the gardens and the farm provide surplus produce to community groups, shelters and soup kitchens.  In many inner-city neighborhoods these gardens have become a focus of neighborhood stewardship and direct community interaction.  They provide critically needed food, beautification, and tangible examples of neighborhood achievement. 

 

The Community Farm is an organic, community agriculture facility.  The Farm currently distributes food through a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, FarmerŐs Markets, and events.  The Farm also offers courses in compost training, bee keeping, and various other workshops related to organic gardening and urban farming.  The Community Farm is located on 128 acres of historic farmland in Aurora with a preserved stream corridor, large cottonwood grove, and historic barns and houses on the premises.  As a result, the Farm is a wonderful place to educate children about wildlife and how natural cycles relate to the farm.  The programs at the farm offer agrarian job and skills-building opportunities to young children, troubled youth, and other at-risk individuals in the community.  Shareholders come from a broad range of backgrounds.

 

DeLaney will focus on new initiatives in 2007.  Specifically, focus will be placed on a Marketing Grant with The Somali Bantu Farming Council of Colorado.  The goal will be to help refugee farmerŐs become self-sufficient.  Major emphasis will also be on work with Community Partner Shares, such as expanding shares with the Somali Bantu, the Colorado AIDS Project, Women, Infant & Children (WIC), and Project Angel Heart.

 

In addition to planting, cultivation, and harvest, the position includes assisting in skills training workshops and various educational programs. Interns/seasonal assistants will be expected to participate in community potlucks and gatherings.  You will be engaged in outdoor, physical work.  Day-to-day tasks will include working with hand tools and farm machinery. Experience in both is advantageous, but not necessary.  You must be self-motivated!  The work is physically demanding and often dirty, but rewarding.

 

The FarmŐs goals are to provide healthy, locally produced food for people of all socio--economic levels and serve as an example of urban agriculture; use organic practices that protect our soil, water, air and wildlife; emphasize quality over quantity; and educate and reconnect people with the land that sustains them.

 

We are looking for motivated interns/seasonal assistants with a sincere interest in urban farming, community building and sustainability, and a willingness to do hard work.  The energy and motivation of the management team is essential to the farmŐs success.