Grow Good Hawaii is hiring!

Grow Good Hawaii is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to restore nature and strengthen Hawaii’s food security by implementing community-based, agroecological solutions in urban areas. We focus on urban—human inhabited—areas because engaging people and building community is central to our mission of reconnecting upland nature with coastal ecosystems and the ocean. Urban areas are the “missing link” in bringing nature and abundance back from mauka to makai.

“Trees for People: Growing an Urban Community Food & Native Forest” is a large-scale project being led by Grow Good Hawaii.  The project will establish and support networks of backyard growers in Waiʻanae and Waimānalo while promoting residential-scale agroforestry. Among its many facets, it entails the distribution of 2,000 trees over five years. The project is funded by a $5 million Inflation Reduction Act grant from the Urban & Community Forestry Program of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service.

Role

We are looking to train 2 individuals at any career stage to support our community, environmental, and food system work in Waimānalo or Waiʻanae. These are paid, part-time, 1-year long internships.

The Agroforestry Roving Assistant will work closely with Grow Good Hawaii staff and project partners in Waimānalo: Hui Mālama o Ke Kai Foundation. The Agroforestry Roving Assistant will be directly supervised by Grow Good Hawaii staff and will support their efforts to implement the Trees for People project in Waimānalo. Working alongside Grow Good Hawaii staff, the Agroforestry Roving Assistant will help install an agroforestry demonstration garden at the partner site, support plant care at Grow Good Hawaiiʻs nursery, and plant trees in Waimānalo residents’ yards.

Main responsibilities and duties:

The Agroforestry Roving Assistant will be exposed to different green career paths, such as agriculture, conservation, horticulture, landscape architecture, etc. Our goal is to help you select a green career that interests you and help you on your path to further education, training, or employment. Through on-the-job training and structured coursework, the Agroforestry Roving Assistant will:

• Learn the cultural requirements and care of native tree and agroforestry species.
• Learn core tenets of sustainable landscape design and maintenance practices and core benefits of small-scale urban agroforestry.
• Participate in the collaborative process of planning, designing, and installing small-scale urban agroforestry systems in an urban environment, to promote Grow Good Hawaii’s objectives of strengthening food security and increasing biodiversity in urban landscapes.  
• Under the supervision of a specialist, assist residents in selecting a tree appropriate to their local environmental conditions and personal tastes, as well as in finding an appropriate location in their yard to plant the tree and in assisting the resident to properly plant it.   
• Learn basic irrigation system design and installation.
• Learn grafting, and other plant propagation procedures and best management practices for maintaining a nursery (proper watering techniques, organic fertilizer schedules, phytosanitization protocols, etc).  
• Learn to communicate with residents to ensure they’re actively monitoring the health of planted trees, and learn to identify and remedy plant health concerns with assistance from specialists and by applying Integrated Pest Management practices (IPM).
• Supporting community outreach and engagement, such as recruiting community members to the project.

What you will learn and gain from this internship

• Direct experience with technical, high-skill work including:
  • Air Layering and Grafting
  • Cropping Systems
  • Disease and pest identification and management
  • Landscape Design
• Exposure to a diverse range of careers oriented around creating sustainable urban landscape designs and management.  
• Access to courses with potential for certification. 
• Guidance from a professional mentor.

Qualifications

• Must be at least 18 years old.
• Must be based on Oʻahu, with the ability to support work in Waimānalo.
• Have a reliable mode of transportation.
• Must be able to lift 40 lbs unassisted
• Expected to complete the full internship term (1 year) and commit to working 19 hours a week.
• Interested in learning about green jobs
• Must be coachable and motivated

Conditions of Employment

The Agroforestry Roving Assistant will typically work between Monday through Friday with occasional weekends at community centers to support events (at least once a quarter).

The Agroforestry Roving Assistant will typically be at Grow Good Hawaii’s plant nursery under a shade canopy supporting tree propagation and care. (30% of time)

Additionally, the Agroforestry Roving Assistant will be at Hui Mālama o Ke Kai Foundation installing a demonstration garden and supporting community events with education, outreach, etc. (40% of time)

Lastly, the Agroforestry Roving Assistant will visit residents’ yards with direct supervisor oversight.  Efforts will be made to ensure physical labor (planting, doing site prep)  is done as early in the day as possible, but participants should be willing to work in the hottest part of the day during the hottest part of the year when necessary. (30% of time)

Terms of Employment

This is a paid part-time internship. Hourly rate is $20 an hour.

To apply, please send your resume and cover letter to [email protected], with the subject line: “Waimānalo Internship”.

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.