Landscape Maintenance Member - John Muir National Historic Site
Summary
American Conservation Experience, a nonprofit Conservation Corps, in partnership with the John Muir National Historic Site (a unit of the National Park Service), is seeking ONE Landscape Maintenance Member to contribute to ongoing routine landscape maintenance projects alongside NPS Staff and other interns and volunteers.
Start Date: February 6, 2023 (some flexibility may be available)
Estimated End Date: July 14, 2023
*a 28-week minimum commitment is required *
Location Details/Description: John Muir National Historic Site, Martinez, CA.
The site is the home and fruit ranch once owned and managed by naturalist John Muir and is characterized by three separate park units: a 9 acres fruit orchard and ornamental garden site (House Unit); 350 acres of oak woodland and grassland (Mount Wanda Unit); 1 acre gravesite and orchard (Gravesite Unit). In addition to work at the John Muir NHS Members will also be engaged with the landscape at another park site located 20 miles away in the town of Danville, the Eugene O'Neill NHS, characterized by 15 acres of orchards and ornamental gardens.
For more information about Martinez or the John Muir NHS please visit: https://www.nps.gov/jomu/index.htm
Position Overview: The John Muir NHS maintains approximately 370 acres of landscape, in addition to 15 acres of orchards and cultivated landscape at our other park, Eugene O'Neill NHS. This position is necessary for our park to maintain the orchards, gardens, trees, shrubs and other landscape features to the quality and level expected by the public and the two park units. Currently the park does not have staffing to provide this level of service to the landscape and this position will meet and exceed that need, with supervision and guidance from the park Horticulturist/Arborist.
This position will entail a variety of landscape duties from basic gardening and cultural landscaping tasks (pruning, watering, weeding, mulching). Natural resource work may include removal of invasive weeds like thistle, threatened and endangered species monitoring, or native tree and plant monitoring. Day-to-day work will involve working primarily outside in a variety of weather conditions, though the timeframe of this position should be mostly warm to hot especially in summer. Work and tasks associated with this position may require the use of various landscaping hand tools such as pruners, loppers, rakes, shovels, hand saws, ladders, leaf blowers, lawnmowers, weed whackers, hedgers, fertilizer spreaders, (but no chainsaws). Power tools such as drills, screw guns, sanders, may also be required (but no chainsaw use at all). Use of ladders may also be necessary and proper ladder use/training will be provided. For any IPM (integrated pest management) work the Member may need to set traps or hand pull weeds, but any use of baits or chemicals will only be done under close supervision by the park IPM coordinator. The park philosophy towards toxic chemicals is to limit or avoid their use whenever possible in favor of mechanical or other means of pest management.
The ACE Member will likely work in a team of two but will also engage as much as possible with other divisions at the park including Maintenance, Natural Resources, Cultural Resources, Interpretation, and also park volunteers and Youth Conservation Corp members. To the degree possible, Members will be invited to engage with other parks in the Bay Area NPS network if time and opportunity allows. If the Member has time, interest, and initiative to take on special projects that interest them, and if such a project also aligns with park objectives, this would be supported by their supervisor. "Special projects" associated with these cross discipline opportunities could consist of either academic research into garden or landscape history of the sites or practical application of new plants or methods of landscape maintenance particularly as we are faced with maintaining the historic character of our cultural landscapes and plant palettes in the face of a warming and drying climate.
This individual placement is meant to facilitate professional development and promotes exposure to land management agencies and networking with professionals. This could include gaining experience in different conservation fields and shadowing different work groups.
Schedule: This will be a full-time 40 hour/week position, daily schedule will typically be from 7am - 3:30pm, however daily start/stop times may be flexible depending upon job assignments and/or the individual's needs on a day-to-day basis.
Position Benefits
Living Allowance: The ACE Member is expected to contribute ~40 hours/week and will receive a living allowance of $700/week to offset the costs of food and incidental expenses, dispersed bi-weekly.
Public Land Corps Hiring Authority: Members serving under this agreement may be eligible for a federal hiring authority upon completion of their term of service. PLC projects also include specific eligibility requirements such as age and citizenship. Please contact ACE staff with questions about eligibility or view general information online here.
Housing: Housing is the responsibility of the member and not provided by ACE or NPS.
Gear Allowance: All gear, tools, PPE and other supplies necessary for the accomplishment of tasks for this position will be purchased and provided by the NPS.
Provided Training/Orientation: ACE members will receive position specific training and an orientation outlining ACE policies and procedures, clear guidance on prohibited activities, and networks for support. Specific training may include:
- Introduction to the National Park Service
- Tool use, handling, and safety: pruners, loppers, rakes, shovels, hand saws, ladders, leaf blowers, lawnmowers, weed whackers, hedgers, fertilizer spreaders, etc (no chainsaws)
- Pruning and plant health care
- Defensive Driver training
- Integrated Pest Management training
Qualifications
Required:
- Members must be a U.S. citizen or Permanent Resident, as required by U.S. government contracts
- Willing and able to represent ACE and the partner organization in a professional, positive, and enthusiastic manner.
- Ability to be both self-directed/work alone, and be a positive, contributing member of a group.
- A valid driver's license and an insurable driving record (documentation to be provided upon request).
- A current and valid form of ID (will be required to provide copies of ID's upon hiring)
- Willing to undergo and must pass the required two-part Criminal History Check
- Ability to perform the essential duties of the position with or without reasonable accommodation.
- ACE Members must verify that they are fully vaccinated for Covid-19 or have requested and been granted a medical or religious exemption to vaccination by the time they start their term.
- ACE Members will need to complete bi-weekly timesheets, beginning of term feedback forms, end of term evaluations and for longer terms, a mid-term evaluation.
- To learn more about eligibility requirements, please visit our website here.
Preferred:
- Competitive applicants for this position can hold or be pursuing a degree in horticulture, arboriculture, landscape design/architecture, environmental science, botany, biology, and/or have relevant experience in those subject areas.
- Knowledge of horticulture, arboriculture, landscape design/architecture, environmental science, botany, biology,
- Ability and willingness to work independently or in pairs or a group outside in a variety of weather conditions, walk and hike up to several miles per day, lift occasional heavy items, climb ladders,
- Deep interest in historic cultural landscapes and garden design and maintenance.
To Apply: Please submit your resume, a cover letter demonstrating your interest and experience, and contact information for three professional/academic references to the online application page for this position here: https://usaconservation.applicantpool.com/jobs/. Early consideration will be given as resumes are received. This position may close at any time. If you have any questions regarding this position please feel free to contact ACE NPS Recruitment and Outreach Manager, Victoria Yee, at vyee@usaconservation.org.
EEO: American Conservation Experience provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, American Conservation Experience complies with applicable state and local laws governing non-discrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities.