The Welland Community Orchard in Victoria, BC is seeking a part time Orchard Coordinator for maintenance and community engagement.
About the Welland Community Orchard
The Welland Legacy Park houses a community orchard that is among the largest & most diverse in Canada. Together with the Town of View Royal and dozens of volunteers, LifeCycles is working to create a new model of public park stewardship, protecting and nurturing this local treasure.
The park was once the backyard of Rex Welland, a well known local conservationist. For over twenty years Rex transformed his yard into a mixed orchard featuring more than 150 fruit trees & vines, and built a collection of 100 varieties of rare heritage apples. Rex was passionate about native bees and took meticulous notes on their habits and life cycles. To ensure the orchard would be used as a public resource Rex placed the land in trust with The Land Conservancy and gifted the property to the Town of View Royal. LifeCycles is humbled to be a part of this legacy. Rex’s passion, enthusiasm and dedication to ecosystem health inspired many, and with the help of our many volunteers we are working to build a public park that fulfills his dream.
Desired Qualities
We are seeking a contractor to support the maintenance of the Welland Community Orchard one day per week, throughout the year. This contractor will play an important role in helping fulfill our dual mission of stewarding the orchard and educating the public on fruit tree cultivation and care. The contractor will be responsible for the care of all plants on site, and will be expected to work independently AND with community volunteers to maintain the orchard to a standard befitting a public park.
Job Tasks
Orchard Management
- Ensure the Welland Legacy Park and its 200+ trees are maintained and improved using organic, holistic and/or non-toxic approaches that are suitable to a public space
- Coordinate and manage Welland Legacy Park supplies and tools; repair or replace when needed
- Assess and maintain existing infrastructure on site; upgrade and identify new infrastructure requirements as needed so the site is safe for park users, volunteers and plants
- Maintain irrigation system and seek opportunities to improve water use on site
- Identify opportunities to increase plantings, for orchard health and community engagement
- Oversee the maintenance of the native pollinator program
- Coordinate with Fruit Tree Project to harvest and distribute excess fruit
- Coordinate the propagation and care of small Fruit Tree Nursery on site
- Monitor and evaluate the heritage apple collection; identify apple varieties for propagation
- Manage compost toilet system safely & to a standard befitting a public park
- Liaise with View Royal Parks Supervisor to manage waste, water, and infrastructure needs
Program and Volunteer Coordination
- Coordinate and run Tree Care Apprenticeship Program, working with small group of community volunteers 1 time per month through growing season to care for Welland’s small nursery and support apprentices in performing seasonal maintenance at the orchard
- Coordinate and run 1 volunteer work party per month, ensuring dates are established and published through LifeCycles networks
- Liaise with LifeCycles staff to support program development and delivery at Welland Community Orchard
- Field inquiries to welland@ email address and communicate upcoming opportunities to be involved to interested volunteers, using LifeCycles volunteer database
- Support community facilitators in hosting the following 4 workshops/year: dormant pruning, summer pruning, grafting and native pollinators
- Attend LifeCycles staff meeting every 6 weeks to provide report on events and activities at Welland
Job Details
Term: March 4, 2019 – February 28, 2020. The initial contract period will be one year beginning in early March, with possibility for extension upon successful completion of tasks. We are seeking applications from qualified individuals to support the following key needs in the coming year. We will be interviewing candidates in the week of February 25th, 2019.
Hours: 8 hours/week
Wage: $25/hour
To Apply
Those interested in applying for this contract position are asked to send their application via email to Matthew Kemshaw at diggers@lifecyclesproject.ca. Deadline for applications is end of day February 21, 2019. Only those applicants selected for an interview will be contacted.
Learn More About the Welland Community Orchard
Website: lifecyclesproject.ca/our-projects/welland-community-orchard
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pg/Wellandlegacypark
Learn More About the LifeCycles Project Society
Website: lifecyclesproject.ca
Facebook: www.facebook.com/lifecyclesproject
Instagram: @lifecyclesproject
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