Garden Education Intern

Join the Place Based Learning Center at Hawthorne Valley Farm as a Garden Intern! Experience our diversified Biodynamic® dairy farm, while guiding children through hands-on, farm-based activities. 

The Place Based Learning Center has been providing on-farm learning experiences for children and teens since 1972. Our biodynamic farm, school and related initiatives all sit on a beautiful 900-acre campus; our mission includes the integration of education, agriculture and the arts, and our work with students is informed by a deep reverence for our environment, an awareness of the interdependence of our community, and a knowledge of the pedagogy of Waldorf education.

We are located in Upstate New York in the beautiful Hudson Valley, 2 ½ hours from Manhattan. The Place-Based Learning Center offers year-round children’s programming. During the school year, our Visiting Students Program hosts weeklong residential educational farm experiences for school classes (grades 3-10). In the summer, we welcome campers ages 8-16 to our overnight and day camps.

We are seeking a Garden Intern for the Visiting Students Program at the Place-Based Learning Center. The Visiting Students program takes students beyond the classroom to experience the rhythms of nature and farm life. This internship is a meaningful way to gain knowledge and insight about Waldorf education, Biodynamic regenerative agriculture, and experiential education.

The majority of our visitors are school classes (3rd grade and older) who arrive with their teachers and chaperones on a Monday and stay until Friday. The classes sleep in our sprawling 200+-year-old farmhouse, participate in lessons and activities related to the farm, food production, and nature-based crafts, and enjoy delicious and nutritious, organic farm-to-table meals. Interns are trained on how to lead activities with the students, such as baking bread, doing farm chores, gardening, hiking, nature crafts, and more. The Garden Intern will occasionally lead these activities but will specialize in maintaining and caring for our 1/4-acre Children's Garden and leading garden activities with groups of 6-9 children during the Spring, Summer, and Fall.

Dates:

The dates of the internship are Monday, January 13, 2025 – Saturday, August 2, 2025. This includes two weeks of training and orientation in January. This role has the potential option to extend to November 2025.

Our Winter/Spring semester runs from January 13 - May 30. Our summer camp season starts June 8 - August 2. The Garden Intern will have a paid week of vacation following the Winter/Spring semester, before camp training begins on June 8.

Garden Intern Responsibilities:

• Lead garden activities with groups of 6-9 children on a daily basis (starting in Spring through the Fall)

• Maintenance of 1/4-acre Children's Garden.

• Lead activities related to the farm, food production, and nature-based crafts with groups of children on a daily basis in the Winter, and as needed during the Spring, Summer, and Fall.

• Share meals with students and teachers in our Dining Hall while classes are visiting the farm.

• Provide a nurturing and responsive environment to students, teachers, guests, and other staff members.

• Share daily and weekend animal care and periodic weekend programming.

• Interns must be committed to fostering an inclusive, safe, and welcoming environment for both students and fellow staff members.

Desired Qualifications:

• Experience with gardening.

• Experience and knowledge of garden maintenance, preferably biodynamic principles.

• Experience working with children in an outdoor setting and leading hands-on activities.

• A good work ethic with an ability to be flexible, and work as a team member.

• Strong communication and organizational skills.

• Ability to live on campus in shared living quarters.

• The ability to lift and carry 50 lbs.

• Practical knowledge of farming, animal care, and interest in Waldorf education is a plus.

• Enthusiastic attitude when working with children.

• Age of 21 or older. 

Compensation:

Compensation for the internship includes room and board (organic, farm-to-table meals) and a $1,100 per month stipend. Interns will live in the farmhouse in private or shared bedrooms with other interns. Please note that our housing cannot accommodate partners, children, or pets.

Compensation also includes educational enrichment opportunities for interns, relating to art, agriculture, and education. Some examples of past enrichment activities include natural dyeing workshops, pottery classes, lectures on organic farming, and field trips to nearby farms and organizations.     

About Hawthorne Valley:

Our integrated learning campus sits on a 900-acre Demeter-certified Biodynamic® farm in Ghent, NY, in the Hudson Valley’s scenic Columbia County. Organized since 1971 as a 501(c)3 nonprofit, our initiatives include: an early childhood through grade 12 Waldorf school; on-farm education programs; a full-line organic/natural foods and grocery store; a Biodynamic creamery and organic bakery; a mobile grocery market; a 300-plus member organic/Biodynamic CSA; social, ecological, and cultural research groups; teacher education programs; arts initiatives and more.

Hawthorne Valley’s mission is to renew soil, society and self by integrating agriculture, education and art.

Hawthorne Valley’s vision is to reconnect people, place, and purpose.

Our mission and vision come to life through our work which includes:

• Integrative Learning: Fostering joy of learning through Waldorf-based, hands-on education geared toward developing the whole person – head, heart, and hands.

• Biodynamic Agriculture: Cultivating and distributing high-quality Biodynamic food from field to fork.

• Compassionate Commerce: Conducting business in a way that prioritizes the welfare of the people, animals, and Earth at the heart of our work.

• Exploration: Supporting wild nature and resilient agriculture, thoughtfully exploring our economic and cultural life, and fostering connection through original research and outreach.

• Expressive Beauty: Nurturing artistic expression in our lives and work.

• Collaboration: Providing a laboratory of collaborative learning and research where we partner to address some of today’s most pressing concerns such as climate change, educating creative and resilient children, supporting biodiversity, and rebuilding healthy and fair food systems.

About the Area:

Most interns enjoy spending their time off exploring nearby towns, skiing, or hiking in the surrounding area. Whatever your interests are, you'll find lots to do for fun during your time off in the Hudson Valley!

• Hudson, NY (20-minute drive) – Popular Upstate town with unique restaurants, cafes, boutiques, art, live music, and events

• Great Barrington, MA (25-minute drive) – Another vibrant town with lots of options for food and shopping

• Berkshire Mountains, MA (25-minute drive)  – You'll find several nearby ski resorts

• Catskill Mountains (~1-hour drive) – Awesome hikes, camping, and skiing

• In the surrounding area near Hawthorne Valley, there are many hiking and bike trails

At Hawthorne Valley, we value and strive for social and cultural renewal in our work. We believe that cultivating an environment where everyone can be – and become – the truest expression of their humanity is essential for individual, organizational, and societal health. We know that a diverse community- where everyone feels safe and is valued as they are- is a strong community. Hawthorne Valley is committed to creating a diverse coworker body, and we are proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. 

We strongly encourage applicants of diverse backgrounds, cultures, genders, experiences, abilities, and perspectives to apply.