Community Forester- Grand Rapids Parks

Hiring Organization: Friends of Grand Rapids Parks
Employment type: Full-Time
Job Location: Grand Rapids
Application Due Date: February 28, 2023

Community Forester

Reports to: Community Forest Project Manager

Hours: Full-time (40+ hours per week, some evenings and weekends required)

Pay Range: $39,500 - $42,000 annual salary

Friends of Grand Rapids Parks Mission and Vision

We leverage city resources through community action in parks and trees to be the healthiest, most shade and park equitable city in America!

Our vision directly supports the vision for the City of Grand Rapids Parks and Recreation in creating and supporting a healthy, vibrant community.

When we are successful, the City of Grand Rapids Parks and Recreation is better able to achieve their mission to provide our community with inspirational experiences through the responsible management and collaborative stewardship of the City’s natural, educational, and cultural resources.

The Community Forester will be part of an ambitious planting of 10,000 trees to fill in roughly half of all Grand Rapids tree vacancies, help give away another 5,000; manage youth teams maintaining and watering trees, and helping to educate the broad community about the impact a tree can have on a home, a life, and a community.

We pride ourselves on providing the best experience possible for our staff, volunteers, and our community partners.

Equity and Values Statement

FGRP approaches our work the same way we hope people approach our parks and trees: joyful, free to move as they wish, and feeling welcome and connected to the outdoors and Grand Rapids.

It is our shared responsibility to ensure all people, regardless of language, culture of origin, religious, gender, sexual orientation, veteran status, socio-economic status or perceived physical ability feel welcome in the parks, amongst the trees, and as a volunteer at FGRP.

Our parks and trees are on land that has been cared for by generations by the Anishinaabek people. FGRP supports the expression of the Anishinaabek culture and Language throughout our programs.

Position Description:

This position directly supports all functions of our Community Forest Project, including the planting and maintenance of 800+ trees annually, and education/outreach through our Neighborhood Forester program. The primary role of this position will be to lead in the execution of our summer tree maintenance program that includes watering and pruning, as well as leading our youth Green Team. The Green Team is a youth employment program that supports at least 10 youth (ages 14-18) and the program is expected to grow.

This position reports directly to the Community Forestry Program Manager and will support our major community tree planting programs–ArborFest, NeighborWoods, Green Your Block, Tree Give-A-Way, and in the execution of contract plantings.

This position will also assist in maintaining strong relationships with key partners, including different schools and school systems throughout the City, the City of Grand Rapids Forestry Department, Parks and Recreation Department, neighborhood associations, and business and corridor improvement districts.

Skills We Need

Past field work in the outdoors: agriculture, landscape, horticulture, forestry, trail building, conservation corps, military, or other similar physical and challenging outdoor experience.
Able to work with groups of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities in an outdoor, challenging environment
Intrinsic motivation to lead a unique, urban forestry team of youth ages 14-18
Willingness to obtain International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) certification
Ability to pass a criminal background check to work with youth
Willingness to lead a group of youth (ages 14-18)
Valid Driver’s License and ability to drive a pickup truck with attached landscape trailer (14’)
Willingness to learn in-house database management practices and be able to present and share significant findings and successes with community, donors, and the forestry community at large
Ability to lift up to 50 lbs unassisted
You are willing, maybe you love, to work outside in all weather conditions, year-round–snow, sleet, wind, or hail cannot keep you from planting trees!
Available to work weekends and evenings as needed-many of our events are scheduled to maximize engagement with volunteers and the community

Skills We’d Love To See

We’d love for you to have a degree in forestry, natural resource management, horticulture, or other “green” field, but if you don’t, that’s ok as long as you have some awesome experience in a similar field
You have worked in youth education or programming and you genuinely want to do it again
You know what GIS is and have some ideas about how to use it to save the world through community forestry
Maybe you know Anishinaabemowin, Polish, Spanish, Swahili, or even Ukrainian– that would help us create more meaningful, long-term community partnerships as we have an increasing need for using these languages in our work

Tree Planting and Maintenance - 75%

Spring and Fall tree planting – (50%)

Assist with site selection and planting execution (GIS field work)
Assist with planting events, including leading groups of volunteers
Assist with grant reporting and tree database management

Summer youth Green Team – (25%)

Recruit and lead a team of 10+ youth to water 800+ trees and educate youth on all aspects of forestry, parks, and green career paths
Green team works 25 hrs/week from June-September, and the remaining 15 hours will be directed to normal work duties
You will need to be able to operate a pickup truck with an installed watering rig and be comfortable making adjustments to maintain safety
You will often be biking around town, so you’ll need basic first aid skills for this portion of the job, be confident on a bike on varied terrain, and be willing to assist with basic bike maintenance

Education and Outreach - 15%

Neighborhood Forester education program

Focused outreach to engage youth in green education and to support Green Team
Assist with and lead Neighborhood Forester classes

Community-based engagement and outreach events

Lead and attend community events

General Support - 10%

Attendance and support for Friends’ signature annual events
Respond to email and phone inquiries related to Community Forestry Program
Attend and participate in team and organizational planning

What’s In It For You?

If you are a recent or about-to-be college graduate, a transitioning military veteran, a military spouse, a landscaper, or a forester with a passion for improving your community, engaging with the community to teach and learn about urban forestry with the community, see yourself as an outdoor multi-tool, and are eager for a launching pad into a career in urban forestry, city and regional planning, forestry, community organizing, or youth outdoors programming, this is a job for you.

Maybe you’ve been a camp counselor, but want to have meaning beyond the camp’s boundaries, or you thirst for more leadership opportunities. Maybe you are seeking a way to give back and get involved in hands-on community work, or you’re a transitioning veteran and not sure what comes next, but want to move to an awesome city and keep doing mission driven, physical work. Maybe you’ve dreamed about forestry and trees for as long as you can remember, maybe you ARE the Lorax–either way, this is a fun job with a great team, where you’ll learn a lot and make a dramatic impact in the city and neighborhoods around you.

To learn more about Friends of Grand Rapids Parks visit www.friendsofgrparks.org

To apply, please send a cover letter and resume to info@friendsofgrparks.org

Apply