Green Era Outreach & Production Internship in Chicago, Illinois at Urban Growers Collective Inc

About Urban Growers Collective

Urban Growers Collective (UGC) uses urban agriculture and community food system development to dismantle inequities and structural racism, which prevent communities of color from living healthy, vibrant lives. UGC cultivates nourishing environments in Chicago’s historically disinvested communities, seeding pathways to freedom while supporting residents’ health, economic development, healing, and creativity through urban agriculture.

As a Black- and woman-led 501(c)(3) organization, we believe that achieving food justice is a necessary first step in healing the historical trauma experienced by communities of color, building their resilience, and, ultimately, achieving liberation. While our work is rooted in farming, UGC’s approach is holistic. Our eight farms, over 11 acres, are primarily on the Southside of Chicago, IL, growing over 25,000 pounds of fresh produce annually, enabling food access to tens of thousands of food-insecure Chicagoans and providing safe and healing spaces for educational and life-enriching opportunities to hundreds of individuals each year through public workshops, workforce development, and land stewardship.

Now, UGC is preparing to open a new renewable energy facility and hub for urban agriculture and green jobs on Chicago’s South Side, the Green Era Campus. Through this work, we are breathing new life into long-neglected communities, building a sustainable model for a just food sector, and redefining what’s possible for Chicago’s local food systems.

Position Summary

Urban Growers Collective seeks a passionate and hard-working individual for an introductory, public education and outreach practicum as the “Green Era Outreach & Farm Production Internship”. Interns learn essential farming skills onsite at UGC’s South Chicago Learning Hub, our Green Era Sustainability Campus, and other farm sites, where they collaborate and contribute to real-time projects and priorities led by UGC’s farm and programs team.

This internship is designed to reflect the realities of farming in urban spaces, at an intensive level of production, and illustrate UGC’s strategies in community outreach pertaining to the Green Era Campus. The position will require a high level of public engagement that demands aptitude for teaching, working with youth, volunteers, and community members, networking, and inspiring new audiences.

To complement the experiential component of the internship and foster spaces for mentorship, Interns are required to participate in weekly skills workshops and attend weekly cohort check-ins. At the close of the internship, individual interns are expected to complete a reflection project to summarize their experience.

Applicants who are over the age of 18, interested in pursuing a career in agriculture and sustainability, and have a demonstrable interest in building local food systems, and/or learning farm work are encouraged to apply.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

The essential functions include, but are not limited to, the following:

*These projected time allocations represent an estimated average time only - actual time will be tracked weekly and adjusted seasonally based on seasonal needs.

Farm Production (40%):

• Build-out and maintenance of farm sites, including bed building, seeding, planting, tending, and irrigating crops;

• Daily use and safe-handling of farm equipment, including wheelbarrows, tools, and hand tools;

• Harvesting, post-harvest handling, and record keeping of crops for sale and distribution;

• Introductory to pest management, including hand-picking, maintaining row cover;

• Introductory compost management;

• Introduction to the maintenance of hoop-houses and additional infrastructure on farm sites;

• Assisting with sales, load-in, and out of produce at farmers’ markets, CSA Program, and the Fresh Moves Mobile Market

• Support daily reporting with UGC staff members;

• Attendance at required trainings and cohort meetings;

• Complete a final project to summarize the intern experience, overall learning, and growth in the program.

Community Outreach & Engagement (40%):

• Support development and implementation of outreach strategies to engage students, faculty, community members, and organizations in organic recycling, renewable energy, environmental, and STEM initiatives.

• Organize tours to promote organic recycling, renewable energy, environmental sustainability, and STEM disciplines in partnership with UGC’s outreach & programs teams.

• Foster a sense of community involvement and responsibility for the environment among campus stakeholders and partners.

• Provide outreach and engagement with local schools to educate students about the GEC.

• Represent Green Era Campus/UGC in a professional, inclusive, and respectful way at meetings and personal social media pages.

• Host opportunities for youth and organizations to interact with the GEC;

• Engage the community in planting, maintaining, and harvesting from on-site grow bags and hydroponic growing operations

• Provide tours & orientations for individuals, community groups, and schools

Virtual Tour Development (15%):

• Design and implement a virtual tour for the GEC.

Data Collection & Reporting (5%):

• Complete daily checkouts & internship reflections;

Minimum Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities)

• Applicant must be over age 18

• Successful completion of a background check;

• Experience and knowledge of food systems and organic sustainable farming;

• Excellent organizational, communication, and follow-through skills;

• Maintains appropriate professional boundaries in working with co-workers, program participants, community members, and partners;

• Ability to think critically and creatively;

• Willingness to work as part of a team in a collaborative environment, but have the ability to work unsupervised to complete the job;

• Must be able to lift 50-75 pounds

• Passion for food justice and urban farming.

• Basic familiarity with Google Workspace & GSuite, and/or willingness to learn is a plus!

Physical Demands and Work Environment

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions:

• Must be willing and able to work in an open-office environment; and

• Position may require prolonged use of a computer; UGC will provide access to shared drives.

• Must be willing and able to work in a farm environment, including all weather conditions (hot, humid, rainy, cold, snowy);

Schedule:

• The Summer internship runs June 15th - Sept. 25th for a total of 15 weeks.

  • For UIUC applicants, the internship will be broken down into two parts:

    • 200 hours to complete APE requirements - June 15th - July 17th

      • Unpaid

      • Focus on reviewing GEC materials, support tours & develop a virtual tour

      • 1x per week cohort check-in

      • Some farm work days

      • Tours starting early July

    • Stipended Participation, July 20 - Sept. 25th

      • 50/50 Farm Production and Green Era Outreach

      • 1x per week check-in

      • Cont. development of virtual tour, cont. Participation in Green Era Tours

• This is a full-time position, 40 hours per week.

• Hours:

  • 8:30 AM-5:00 PM, Monday-Friday

  • Occasional evening and weekend hours will be required to participate in farm and community events.

• Interns are primarily assigned to UGC’s South Chicago Farm (9001 S Mackinaw Ave, Chicago, IL 60617) & the Green Era Campus (650 W 83rd St.)

Compensation:

• $6,500 stipend, disbursed every 2 weeks

  • Full payment of the stipend is dependent upon completion of attendance requirements.

  • Payment begins once 200 hours of APE experience is completed.