Chatfield Community Solar Garden - Head Grower

Overview

Description

About Denver Botanic Gardens:
Green inside and out, Denver Botanic Gardens was founded in 1951 and is considered one of the top botanical gardens in the United States and a pioneer in water conservation. Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, The Gardens has a robust living plant collection, natural history collection and art collection along with temporary art exhibitions. The Gardens is a dynamic, 24-acre urban oasis in the heart of the city, offering unforgettable opportunities to flourish with unique garden experiences for the whole family – as well as world-class exhibitions, education, and plant conservation research programs.

Denver Botanic Gardens is currently seeking a Full Time Chatfield Community Solar Garden - Head Grower at our Chatfield Farms location. Read below to see if the requirements might be a good fit for you.

The Head Grower will manage and oversee all aspects of vegetable production for the new Chatfield Community Solar Garden project. The Head Grower will oversee 4.5 acres of agrivoltaics in collaboration with the Denver Office of Climate Action and the National Renewable Energy Lab.

• Solar Garden Operations:
  Manages all aspects of vegetable production in the solar garden, including bed preparation, planting, weeding, cultivation, fertilization, irrigation, high tunnel and trellis installation, and post-harvest processing.
• Collaboration with Research:
  Works closely with NREL’s research team to help them collect data on crop development, soil health, and overall performance within the solar array.
• Outreach and Education Development:
  In other months outside of peak farm season, the Solar Garden team will create an outreach and education plan to share knowledge and best practices gained for future solar farmers.
• Staff Management:
  Supervises seasonal staff, volunteers, and other farm workers, including recruitment, training, and day-to-day supervision. Ensures effective teamwork and high-quality results.
• Crop Planning & Scheduling:
  Develops and implements annual crop plans that meet organic and soil health standards as well as visual standards set by Denver Botanic Gardens. Coordinates the propagation of seedlings with greenhouse staff.
• Community Produce Donations:
  Manages all aspects of the produce donation program, including organizing weekly distributions, packing, and delivery to drop off locations. Ensures timely and accurate deliveries to subscribers and partner organizations.
• Sustainable Farming Practices:
  Applies organic farming principles such as Integrated Pest Management (IPM), soil fertility management, and crop rotation to maximize yields. Maintains rigorous food safety standards throughout all production processes.
• Equipment Operation & Maintenance:
  Operates and maintains farm equipment including riding tractors, walk-behind tractors, mowers, weed trimmers, gators, and box trucks. Perform light maintenance and work with operations staff on larger equipment repairs.
• Recordkeeping & Reporting:
  Maintains accurate records of planting, harvest, input costs, and crop yields. Develops reports based on collected data to inform future growing seasons.
• General Operations Support:
  Assists in site-wide activities, including horticultural tasks, event staffing, and maintenance of farm tools, equipment, and buildings.
• Team
  
  Collaboration:
  
  Attends regular meetings with the Farm Program team to ensure communication and planning are aligned across departments.
• Additional notes:
  Regular attendance at the worksite may be required. As with all positions at Denver Botanic Gardens, the incumbent must be in good performance standing to be eligible for remote work. Remote work is at the discretion of management at all times. All Gardens employees must be committed to the mission of connecting people with plants, especially plants from the Rocky Mountain region and similar regions around the world, providing delight and enlightenment to everyone.

• Must have a proven track record of producing high quality crops for a local food system.
• Working knowledge of agrivoltaics is preferable but not required.
• Ability to producing…