Community Education Project (CEP) is a multi-disciplinary, higher education-in-prison program at Stetson University. CEP is committed to offering quality liberal arts education to students incarcerated at Tomoka Correctional Institution (TCI) in Daytona Beach, Florida, a maximum-security men’s prison. Since its founding in 2015, the CEP mission has included expanding access to higher education in prisons; providing incarcerated students with meaningful opportunities for personal growth and greater sense of self-worth through rigorous engagement with a liberal arts curriculum; and fostering positive impacts on incarcerated people, our university, and the communities from which the men come. Currently, CEP serves approximately 20 incarcerated students each semester. With the receipt of a two-year grant in 2020 for the project, Seeding Justice: Collaborative Learning Landscapes in Carceral Spaces, CEP is expanding its programming to include the development of a teaching garden on the TCI compound."
Planned start date of January 15, 2021 with flexibility (and option to begin work remotely if relocating to the area).
ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
GARDEN PLANNING, CONSTRUCTION, AND MAINTENANCE: The GM will be joining the CEP team right at the launch of the new food studies program, and will be responsible for planning, designing, and leading the construction of the new teaching garden site at TCI. CEP students have been researching for this garden project for years, and the GM will be responsible for collaborating with CEP students, CEP leadership, and TCI staff to establish the new garden. The GM will plan garden workdays, and coordinate management of garden volunteers with the On-Site Coordinator. They will help teach students basic gardening methods. The GM will keep detailed records about the planning, building, and development of the garden, and will also document the weekly progress of the garden (planting, maintenance, harvesting). The GM will contribute regular posts to a CEP garden blog, with the eventual goal of building a toolkit from these records for dissemination to other prison programs interested in developing a garden. The GM will also work with TCI staff and the Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC) to coordinate the ordering and delivery of garden materials. Depending on season and stage of garden development, the GM will spend approximately 50% of their time each week working in the garden alone or with students/volunteers.
SUPPORT OF FOOD STUDIES COURSES AND PROGRAMMING: The teaching garden, among its varied purposes, will serve as a hands-on learning landscape for future credit-bearing food studies courses. The GM will be responsible for working with the instructors of record for these courses to plan appropriate crops, garden tasks, etc., to support the learning objectives. As needed, the GM may be asked to attend class sessions to assist the course instructors in their hands-on teaching activities. The GM will design and deliver a short “Gardening 101” tutorial to students in early 2021 using the online-learning platform, Lantern. In addition to garden-specific work, the GM will support the broader educational work and goals of CEP by supervising weekly resource hours for students in the CEP classroom, assisting students with coursework as appropriate, assisting the On-Site Coordinator with administrative tasks, communicating with the CEP Leadership Team, and coordinating with the TCI staff when needed. This work will vary by season/semester, but will occupy approximately 25% of the GM’s time.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND GARDEN SUSTAINABILITY: The GM will be responsible for cultivating relevant community partnerships to expand the reach and impact of the garden programming. Potential outcomes of these partnerships may include seed saving projects and seed exchanges with school or community gardens, development of curriculum for use in other garden programs, or community presentations about the garden. The GM will also support CEP student research and encourage them in developing ideas for future community engagement. Finally, the GM will help ensure the sustainability and vibrancy of the garden by exploring and securing future funding sources for the project. Roughly 25% of the GM’s time will be spent on community engagement and capacity building.
Performs other site and position specific functions as assigned
MINIMUM EDUCATION: Associate’s or bachelor’s degree in horticulture, agriculture, or related field OR equivalent market vegetable gardening/farming experience.
PLEASE INCLUDE A COVER LETTER, ADDRESSING YOUR INTEREST IN AND ABILITY TO WORK WITH INCARCERATED STUDENTS.
Required Skills
Required Experience
Associate’s or bachelor’s degree in horticulture, agriculture, or related field OR equivalent market vegetable gardening/farming experience
Knowledge of and/or experience with Central Florida vegetable production, raised bed gardening, crop planning, irrigation systems, organic pest control methods (or integrated pest management), season extension, seed germination, seed saving, soil health management, plant varieties, and composting techniques
Demonstrated experience working with diverse stakeholders, particularly students of color, members of agricultural communities, and members of professional academic communities with varied goals
Proficiency with Microsoft Office suite and Google products
Reliable access to transportation
The ability to obtain and maintain clearance at the prisons. Given the job responsibilities, the person hired to the position must complete background and driving record checks. Please note that this position includes weekly on-site coordination and office hours, to include some evenings
Formerly incarcerated people are strongly encouraged to apply
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
Salary grade: 5