Trainee, Horticulture

Aki Wiidookaagewin (Earth Helpers) – Trusteed by The Neighbourhood Group

Trainee, Horticulture

Contract, Full-time – 35 hours per week
Compensation: $20 per hour
Start date: 4/03/2023
End date: 11/17/2023
No benefits, non-union

Job description:

The proposed Miziwe Biik Aboriginal Employment & Training Targeted Wage Subsidy Grant will hire one Indigenous Person for the ‘Learn to Garden’ Employment and Training Program at Paul Martel Park (10 Madison Avenue) which is home to the Aki Wiidookaagewin (Earth Helpers) Native Plant Garden; the main restoration training site. Participants will have instruction on the concepts of Ecology, Ecorestoration, Grower Greenhouse, Nursey, Market Garden Training, and Basic Carpentry, as well as hands on interactive learning in Gardening, Landscaping, Carpentry, Eco-restoration, and Production. Our program enables participants to gain employment and training; preparing them for employment in City of Toronto Public Parks or the private sector.

Responsibilities:

• Prepare and install planting sites
• Complete the restoration of the Native Plant Garden
• Re-installment of black plastic edging along walkways
• Build materials bays in service yard
• Build cedar light wheel chair accessible cedar planters and benches

Eco-restoration Activities:

• Prepare planting areas at Paul Martel Park.
• Plant beds with Eco-restoration material, water and mulch.
• Maintain a watering schedule until plants are rooted in and established.
• Train in market Garden raised planter production

Landscape Maintenance Activities:

• Daily Park Clean up
• Watering of plantings
• Weeding
• Mulch planting beds as required
• Renew lime stone screening on walkways and children’s garden area
• Autumn Pruning

Grower and Nursery Activities:

• Participants’ work activities will repeat a grower activity cycle throughout the program. Grower and Nursery Activities cycle includes:
• Seeding down flats and transplant seedlings into cell packs.
• Transplant from cells packs to 4-inch pots. transplanting
• Watering greenhouse plant material
• Watering and maintaining Nursery stock

Requirements:

• Participant must be willing to learn basic gardening and ecology of plant communities.
• Must be willing to work outside.
• Must be physically able to do moderate lifting.
• Participants must wear a COVID mask and certified work safety boots.
• All of the work will done with hand tools which have be donated for use of the project.

Should you have any questions or concerns please contact trustee.hub@tngcs.org.