2018 CitySprouts Summer Program Fellowship
Location: Cambridge and Boston, MA
Dates: June 25 – August 10, 2018 (Program dates may shift slightly. There is some
flexibility to extend for funding sources that require more hours)
Hours: 8:00am – 4:30pm, Monday – Friday
Compensation: The CitySprouts Summer Fellowship is an unpaid position
Reporting to: Program Manager
CitySprouts is a non-profit school garden program that works with public schools to build capacity
to integrate the school garden into teachers’ curriculum and the school culture. CitySprouts
partners with 23 public schools in Cambridge and Boston, MA. Our Middle School Program
consists of both afterschool and summer programming with a goal to make the experience of
garden-based learning accessible to all young people.
CitySprouts’ Summer Program is based in Cambridge and Boston and provides 100 youth (ages
11-14) with hands-on learning through growing, harvesting, preparing and eating healthy food in
an urban garden. With an emphasis on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), the
summer program fosters a strong connection to their natural urban environment through working
and learning in the garden.
CitySprouts is seeking, energetic, diverse, and outgoing college students* to provide essential
support to the Summer Program. We expect to accept approximately 10-12 CitySprouts Summer
Fellows for seven weeks during the summer of 2018. CitySprouts Summer Fellows can expect a
significant learning opportunity as well as opportunities for career exploration. Summer Fellows
work in pairs, directly with a CitySprouts Garden Coordinator and will also:
● Receive training in:
○ Urban agriculture
○ Teaching about food and the environment
○ Managing youth groups in an outdoor setting
○ Building relationships with and teaching middle school youth
● Participate in weekly staff meetings
● Collaborate with a garden maintenance team as stewards for multiple school gardens
● Engage in daily lesson and activity planning in inquiry and project-based curriculum.
● Help build youth’s STEM, social-emotional, gardening, and cooking skills
Expectations:
The CitySprouts Summer Fellowship is an opportunity for interested applicants to gain first-hand
experience working in the heart of a growing nonprofit organization. Summer Fellows will be
given significant responsibility toward making the summer program a successful experience for
all participants, as well as in representing CitySprouts to young people, families and the larger
community. All members of CitySprouts staff, including Fellows, are expected to uphold the
following expectations:
● Be curious, open and willing to try new things
● Express enthusiasm for the CitySprouts program in the garden, in the neighborhood and on
field trips
● Approach the physical labor of garden maintenance with energy and a positive attitude
● Stay mindful of the impact adults have on young people and foster a positive & respectful
relationship between youth, other Fellows and CitySprouts staff.
● We expect Fellows and staff to be thoughtful and reflective about how their own identities
affect interactions with youth and each other.
● Have a transportation plan. Not all of our sites are walkable to main lines of public
transportation, and fellows are expected to move among sites within the work day. We find
that fellows who have access to a vehicle (either a bicycle or a car) are happiest during the
summer. We expect fellows to think through their transportation plan before the start of
the summer.
Summer Fellow Responsibilities:
● Youth Development and Education
○ Assist the Garden Coordinator in teaching a team of summer middle school interns
about growing food, garden care, healthy cooking, science of the garden, food
justice, community service, and the natural environment
○ Work with the Garden Coordinator to plan inquiry and project based activities and
lessons for interns related to the above topics
○ Mentor middle school youth and encourage their leadership skills
○ Chaperone youth on field trips to local farms, food pantries and grocery stores
● Urban Agricultural Skills
○ Work as part of an afternoon garden maintenance crew, perform routine tasks such
as watering, weeding, harvesting and planting
○ Complete special garden maintenance and construction projects with garden crew
● Cooking and Food
○ Responsible for pantry inventory at summer internship site
○ Responsible for overseeing and maintaining safety during youth meal preparation
Important Notes:
● Fellows are central to our summer staffing and the success of our summer youth program,
so we ask for a commitment to the full seven-week time period.
● The CitySprouts Summer Fellowship is an unpaid position. We ask all Fellows to either
secure funding through their school’s service learning & career center or receive Internship
credits from their college or university. We do not provide housing. If funding for the
summer is an issue please contact us about potential resources.
Application:
● Please respond to the following questions/prompts in no more than a page
○ (The cost of living for 2 months in the greater Boston area is approximately $2,500)
In this unpaid internship, my funding or Internship credits will be coming from…
○ The experience I bring to this internship will be…
○ The skills and experience I hope to gain include…
● Please include two references that can speak to your work or school experience.
*In our experience, this position has worked best for college students because they can access a
funding and support system that allows them to participate in a demanding full time experience for
9-weeks without pay. However, if a qualified candidate who is not currently enrolled in college can
give compelling evidence that they will be able to complete the fellowship without that support, we
will gladly consider them.
Please send one page application & resume to [email protected]
Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis, with preference given to those received
before March 15, 2018
Megamenu Social