Education & Engagement Intern
Join the team at Heritage Farm!
For more than 45 years, Seed Savers Exchange, a non-profit, nationally-focused organization based in the Driftless Region on the outskirts of Decorah, Iowa (near where Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota converge on the Mississippi), has focused on conserving and promoting America's culturally diverse but endangered garden and food crop heritage for future generations. Seed Savers Exchange was a pioneer in the advocacy for preserving these heirloom varieties for generations to come, and is committed to keeping these varieties where they belong—in our gardens and on our tables.
Seed Savers Exchange (SSE) is seeking an Education & Engagement Intern for mid-May/early June through August 2021. As the world continues to face the change and uncertainty of living through a pandemic, many people have turned to seeds and growing their own food as a source of hope and resilience. The Seed Savers Exchange Education & Engagement Intern will have the opportunity to work closely with SSE staff to provide beginning and first-time growers and gardeners the information and resources needed to grow their own food and save their own seed.
The Education & Engagement Intern will be involved in this work on many different levels, including assisting with our Resilience Gardens virtual education programming, assisting in the creation and implementation of online educational events, helping to manage our Herman’s Garden seed donation program and speakers bureau, working on written education content, and assisting in the enhancement of the Heritage Farm visitor experience through display garden maintenance and educational signage.
All work will be done with staff and community safety and wellness as top priority. Occasional weekend work will be required.
This is a non-exempt seasonal position working 40 hours/week for up to 12 weeks. Applications considered through April 15, 2021. Internship start and end dates are flexible.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
- Assist with the planning, preparation, management, and evaluation of online education and engagement events, including our annual conference
- Assist with the planning and preparation for potential in-person education and engagement events
- Assist in the planning & creation of Resilience Garden Project educational videos, to be shared on SSE social media
- Help manage our Herman’s Garden seed donation program
- Help manage our SSE Speakers Bureau staff speaking engagements
- Help explore & implement ways to make SSE educational programing and content more accessible to and inclusive of diverse communities
- Help to maintain signage and overall appearance of education and display gardens
Required Qualifications:
- Organized, self-directed creative problem solver, with strong attention to detail
- An appreciation for and comfort with learning about and from cultures other than your own
- Comfort leading groups and working with others, with an ability to remain calm, confident, and flexible in a fast-paced, ever-evolving and sometimes public work environment, learning alongside everyone on the team
- Comfort working with others in a virtual setting, including leading virtual meetings and appearing in educational videos
- Experience in or ability to learn video creation, editing, and presenting
- Knowledge of or ability to learn online organizational systems such as Google Drive, spreadsheets, and event platforms
- Ability to speak to personal needs and respect safety protocols and comfort of others
Additional Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience with video creation, editing, and presenting
- Experience in education field
- Knowledge of and experience with gardening
- Knowledge of and experience with seed saving
- Experience with public storytelling, through writing and/or presenting
- Photography skills
- Ability to perform physical activity including standing for extended periods of time, lifting, carrying (up to 50 lbs.), bending, kneeling, and other motions related to garden maintenance
Benefits
- Compensation: 40hr/wk position at $11.00/hr
- Paid holidays