Urban Food Forest Intern

Summer jobs, Student jobs

Canada Summer Jobs

Position: Urban Food Forestry Intern

Type: age 30 & under / summer

Organization: Urban Bounty

Location: This position is in-person and based out of the Urban Bounty office in Paulik Park in Richmond, BC. Travel around Richmond is required for fruit picks and assessments and events (access to a reliable vehicle is required).

Urban Bounty, formally known as Richmond Food Security Society, is a registered charity with a vision to support healthy people, the community, and the environment by cultivating a resilient local food system through education, advocacy, and community-building initiatives. We connect people with where their food comes from, support local food systems, and promote environmental stewardship through hands-on programs, workshops, and events.

We are a small team of staff supported by volunteers, all passionate about organic growing and food security. We live the values of the Richmond Food Charter, and courageously engage our community to address challenges. We build community, have fun doing it, and hope to create long-term, tangible, systemic results.

We Run 5 Core Programs

• Community Gardens: We build and maintain safe, inclusive, welcoming community garden spaces to help people grow. Garden plots are located on public City land, and stewarded by a mixture of individual gardeners, community organizations, and volunteers.
• Wellness in the Garden: Gardening has demonstrated benefits for individual and community health, which we promote through creating therapeutic, shared gardens and interactive events.
• Urban Food Forestry: We coordinate volunteers to harvest from urban fruit trees to promote food access and mitigate food waste. We also plant and maintain Community Food Forests which are open to harvest by the public – inspired by permaculture teachings and by the long local history of Indigenous Coast Salish Forest Gardens.
• Living Soil Land Stewardship: Soil is the foundation of any garden. We run educational programming on environmentally-sound techniques, such as composting and cover-cropping, to take care of soil so it takes care of us.
• Seed Security: Food security starts with seeds. We manage a Seed Library and Seed Donation program to increase access to high-quality, locally-adapted seeds in our community. We also run educational programs, demonstration gardens, and our annual March Seedy Saturday festival to empower gardeners to save seeds for climate resilience, food sovereignty, and our collective future.

Requirements

These positions are supported by the Canada Summer Jobs Program. For funding, the candidate must be:

• be between 15 and 30 years of age at the beginning of the employment period
• be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or person to whom refugee protection has been conferred under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act for the duration of the employment and
• have a valid Social Insurance Number at the start of employment and be legally entitled to work in Canada in accordance with relevant provincial or territorial legislation and regulations

Other Job-related Requirements

• Holds a current Class 5 driver’s licence that allows you to drive in BC, Canada. Must provide a BC Driver’s Abstract free from driving convictions and prohibitions.
• Access to a reliable vehicle to travel to fruit pick sites and events along with transporting supplies, including but not limited to: ladders and harvesting tools; and event materials such as tents and tabling materials. Mileage will be reimbursed at the CRA mileage rate (currently $0.73 cents/km).
• Ability to work flexible hours, including evenings and weekends.
• Able to: work in an outdoor environment in various weather conditions; use of ladders (maximum climbing height of 6 feet) and harvesting equipment; and lift boxes of fruit to a maximum of 35 pounds
• Proficient with Google Suite, Microsoft Office, and ability to learn new technologies.
• Have or ability to get:
• Criminal record check with vulnerable sector search ­ ­
• Emergency First Aid
• Must have experience or an interest in urban agriculture, Land and Food Systems, Sustainable Agriculture, Environmental Science, or Horticulture.

We are seeking an Urban Food Forestry Program Intern who will work with the Volunteer Coordinator and Community Programs Manager to facilitate the Fruit Recovery Program and assist with other Urban Food Forestry work. The Fruit Recovery program aims to reduce food waste through redistributing fresh, unused fruit to Richmond residents and transforming the relationship participants have with their local food system. The intern will lead fruit picks where volunteers collect unused fruit from residential fruit trees and bushes. The harvest is shared with volunteers, fruit tree owners, and community partners such as the Richmond Food Bank.

Tasks And Responsibilities

• Lead groups of volunteers to harvest fruit with care for their safety
• Support administrative tasks such as data entry, email communication, survey evaluation, reports
• Record and track program impact
• Exercise exceptional organizational and interpersonal skills
• Assist with scheduling fruit recovery picks with homeowners and volunteers, recruiting and leading fruit picks, sorting fruit, and delivering fruit to community partners.
• Assist with compelling content for web and social media channels to promote programs and initiatives and to story-tell community experiences around food, culture, migration, and sustainability

Location

This position is in-person and based out of the Urban Bounty office in Paulik Park in Richmond, BC. Travel around Richmond is required for fruit picks and assessments and events (access to a reliable vehicle is required).

• Start date: July 6, 2026
• End Date: August 28, 2026 (8 weeks)

Hours : 35 hours per week, for a maximum of 280 hours. Hours are typically Mon-Fri 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM however, there will be events on the weekends, so availability to work Saturdays and Sundays is necessary.

Pay : $19.00 plus 4% vacation pay paid out each pay period.

How To Apply

Send your cover letter and resume to the attention of the Hiring Team at ***email_hidden*** with the subject line - Canada Summer Jobs Urban Food Forestry Internship.

Please mention you saw this at GoodWork.ca .

Interviews will begin mid-May, so candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible but the posting will remain up until the jobs are filled.