Student jobs at the Urban Farm

Are you a student looking for summer employment? Do you have a passion for rooftop farming and food justice? Why not apply to be a Field Apprentice? The Urban Farm at TMU is hiring Field Apprentices for the 2023 season!

Field Apprentices are responsible for supporting all tasks related to Urban Farm operations, including the Indigenous Foodways program and Black Food Sovereignty initiative. This includes field work such as:

• planting,
• irrigation, 
• cultivation, 
• compost and harvest, and
• daily farm chores such as tool maintenance and clean-up. 

Apprentices will assist with the distribution of the harvest, including the TMU Urban Farm Farmers’ Market, and will support engagement activities such as tours, workshops and open farms. 

In addition to day-to-day farm activities, apprentices will receive training in a classroom setting as well as in the field, in order to deepen their theoretical and practical understanding of urban agriculture, ecology and food justice. These teachings include a range of topics related to ecological rooftop farming and the principles and practice of Black and Indigenous Food Sovereignty, along with technical workshops such as seed-saving and composting. Field apprentices will engage in goal setting and regularly scheduled check-ins to support their success throughout the program.

Ideal candidates are passionate about food and seek to learn and develop skills in:

• rooftop farming, 
• green infrastructure, 
• ecology, 
• food justice, 
• community inclusion,
• anti-racism, 
• Indigenous Wisdom, 
• Traditional Ecological Knowledge,  
• Black Food Sovereignty, and
• sustainable food systems.

The Urban Farm is seeking student employees who can bring diverse knowledge and skills related to farming, particularly to support the Black Food Sovereignty initiative (including the Harvest Collective and Learning Circle), Indigenous Foodways and other culturally significant foodways. 

Position details 

Title: Field Apprentice

Contract dates: May 15th to August 18th, 2023 

Hours: 24 hours (3.5 shifts) per week

Pay rate: $18 per hour

Responsibilities

• Engage in field work, such as seeding, cultivation, harvest, etc. 
• Engage in farm chores and general maintenance duties.
• Assist in distribution of food including packaging and market sales.
• Support engagement programs, such as tours, workshops and events.
• Support virtual engagement initiatives, such as social media.
• Collect and enter records daily.

Required skills 

• Good oral communication 
• Problem solving and thinking 
• Being responsible and accountable 
• Goal setting and taking initiative 
• Positive attitude 
• Time management 
• Respecting differences 
• Working well with others

How to apply

To apply, please send a resume and cover letter to urbanfarm@torontomu.ca by April 9, 2023. Applicants will be contacted to fill out a Google Form questionnaire by April 12. Only selected candidates will be invited to a 30 minute interview during the week of April 24, 2023. 

The Urban Farm is committed to creating an environment that fosters equity and community inclusion and takes a triple bottom line approach in its operations to build a project that is socially, environmentally and financially sustainable.