9D35

PAY RANGE: EP22

(Urban Forestry)

(Urban Gardening)

(Park Usage & Stewardship)

GENERAL DEFINITION

This is parks programming work coordinating the operation of urban greening and community programs to assure that departmental and community needs are being met. The employee in the Park Usage & Stewardship specialty is responsible for planning, coordinating, and evaluating comprehensive park usage and stewardship programs on a citywide basis. The employee in the Urban Forestry specialty is responsible for planning, directing and coordinating, and evaluating community forestry-based programs and operations on a citywide basis. The employee in the Urban Gardening specialty is responsible for urban agriculture coordination work to support and expand the usage of parks and other public lands for agriculture and community garden projects. Employees in this class work with programming staff to build community capacity in support of the assigned programs and participate in recruiting, training and evaluating stewardship, community and civic groups. All positions coordinate the operation of programs to assure that volunteers and volunteer organizations are in compliance with departmental regulations In addition to coordinating cross-division efforts within the department, all positions work closely with department affiliated stewardship groups, community groups, organizational program partners, volunteer agencies, and individual volunteers to implement volunteer programs and activities that support the department’s citywide sustainability goals. The employees in this class report to a director level position.

ALLOCATING FACTORS: (The following conditions must be met for a position to be approved for this class.)

1. The employees in this class must work to support and expand the usage of

parks and other public lands for agriculture and community garden projects or for arboricultural operations.

2. The employees in this class must work in the Department of Parks and Recreation.

TYPICAL EXAMPLES OF WORK (ILLUSTRATIVE ONLY)

ALL SPECIALTIES

Plans, directs and coordinates, through seasonal and volunteer staff, community programs and operations on a citywide basis in the area of specialization; supports and expands existing programming and strategic initiatives, including the development of short- and long-range plans; determines priorities for projects; allocates budgeted funds; approves requisitions and expenditures of budgeted funds; communicates program goals; evaluates the progress of projects and recommends changes; determines, plans and schedules the work of assigned programs and events; reviews work for timeliness, accuracy and completeness; provides technical support for staff; makes adjustments and corrections to procedures as needed.

Recruits, interviews, selects, trains, assigns and supervises a combination of seasonal staff and volunteers.

PARK USAGE & STEWARDSHIP

Plans, coordinates and evaluates a comprehensive park usage and stewardship program on a citywide basis; directs community participation functions related to local park areas and/or facilities; serves as liaison for park usage and stewardship initiatives; engages residents, Park Friends groups, community organizations, civic associations, small businesses, corporations, Business Improvement Districts, City agencies and other stakeholders in reclamation and revitalization projects benefitting neighborhood parks; schedules and coordinates associated programs; supervises personnel that perform outreach and volunteer services for park stewardship.

Annually coordinates a six-month seasonal maintenance program to service neighborhood parks; may serve as liaison for park stewardship programs; coordinates with departmental maintenance supervisors and Park Friends groups to address specific park needs; provides technical assistance to Park Friends groups as required; attends community meetings and visits parks on regular basis to evaluate and troubleshoot programs.

Organizes citywide Parks Revitalization Projects and/or beautification events; establishes park usage guidelines and issues permits to residents, community organizations and other entities; manages all park Service Days including receiving requests, lining up projects and running day of service and volunteer coordination.

Coordinates Love Your Park signature site projects with departmental skilled trades staff and Urban Forestry and Operations Divisions; manages and delivers Stewardship and park seasonal staff field training; organizes stewardship requests and directs to operations staff through project collaboration and work order requests.

Coordinates Boxers Trail 5K; Coordinates natural lands-based projects in collaboration with Capital Projects staff, City Council, community groups, external partners and other City departments.

Leads domestic and wildlife animal committee; coordinates resources and materials for land-based stewardship parks projects; plans workforce development projects for Stewardship activities in unstaffed parks with PowerCorps PHL.

Supports partnership with Water Department on Master Watersheds Program; coordinates support for Park Friends Network annual events.

URBAN FORESTRY SPECIALTY

Plans and implements, through seasonal staff and volunteers, public urban forestry programming, including but not limited to the TreePhilly Program, Arbor Day events, tree plantings, tree giveaways, and tree maintenance workshops; directs overall implementation of programs; plans volunteer and press events, and controls the content, printing and distribution of the informational and promotional materials used for these programs; coordinates closely with partner non-profit organizations and City agencies to fundraise for urban forestry programs, and allocates available resources to maximize program efficiency; ensures that urban forestry programs are geographically distributed among a variety of Philadelphia Parks & Recreation facilities, and that tree planting programs are targeted in low tree canopy neighborhoods in order to meet departmental goals.

Supervises a combination of seasonal, temporary, volunteer or permanent full-time personnel who implement and perform outreach for urban forestry operations and programming; serves as an advocate for City’s greening initiatives related to trees, serving as spokesperson and expert on both a political and community level; represents departmental urban forestry programs by speaking at local, regional and national conferences; convenes regular meetings of local urban forestry partners, including the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, PECO, Fairmount Park Conservancy, Philadelphia Water, and the Philadelphia Field Station of the USDA Forest Service.

URBAN GARDENING SPECIALTY

Facilitates the processing of expressions of interest and applications for new agriculture projects/gardens through the Department Urban Agriculture Program; recruitment, capacity-building and training of stewardship and community groups for the program; maintains consistent communication with participating groups through meeting attendance/coordination, conducting capacity-building workshops, and facilitating planning meetings; speaks to community groups and service organizations to inform them of the program and to encourage them to provide services for this program.

Supports and resources the Youth/Intergenerational Urban Agriculture Program; performs project implementation of new urban agriculture projects; conducts program application processing and project evaluation.

Engages and educates community groups and stewardship organizations on organic practices the functions and techniques of urban agriculture and community gardening including greenhouse/hoop house operations, irrigation systems, soil health and science, organic growing practices, integrated pest management, and stormwater management practices; performs on-the-ground organizing work to build support for the Department Urban Agriculture Program and other sustainability efforts (in response to Departmental strategic and specific objectives); works with programming staff to build community capacity in support of expanding opportunities for youth to participate in urban agriculture and community gardening; coordinates and trains volunteers on methods and procedures that will enhance the effectiveness of the Department Urban Agriculture Program.

Develops and implements audience specific-Urban Agriculture Program curricula to be used in the department's Out of School Time Programs that include Tot Recreation, After-School and Summer Camp programs. Develops and maintains procedures to ensure that the program curriculum and implementation is in alignment with both the Core Standards for Philadelphia Youth Programs and departmental youth development goals.

Develops and implements procedures to document daily participant attendance for activities conducted during any program cycle. Develops and implements evaluation protocols to assess and document effectiveness of Urban Agricultural programming in serving Tot Recreation, After-School and Summer Camp participants.

Recruits, interviews, selects, trains, assigns and supervises a combination of seasonal Garden Educators and volunteers who work within department provided Out of School Time Programs as well as in Community Gardens located on public land.

Determines program and maintenance supplies and material needs for citywide Urban Agricultural youth development programs, inter-generational programs and community gardens as well as coordinates the acquisition, distribution and utilization of these resources. Propagates appropriate plants and seedlings in preparation for and utilization in Urban Agricultural program cycles.

Identifies potential external funding opportunities to support Urban Agricultural Programs and provides technical assistance to the development of appropriate proposals in collaboration with appropriate departmental staff as well as interdepartmental and external program partners. Implements grant-supported programs and ensures compliance with the programmatic, fiscal and data collection procedures of external funding sources as required.

Develops and maintains a cohesive network of Urban Agricultural Programs (i.e. Community Gardens, and Orchards) that utilize both departmental and municipal property. Coordinates all Urban Agricultural initiatives involving departmental and municipal entities (i.e. “Garden Preservation Program”, market farming, etc).

Creates department-specific Urban Agricultural policies as well as collaborates with other municipal entities and the Mayor’s Food Policy Advisory Council to create and implement comprehensive citywide policies governing Urban Agricultural programs.

Represents the department at city-wide and community meetings with other City agencies and organized service and civic groups to explain and promote aspects of the Department Urban Agriculture Program;

Performs related work as required.

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

KNOWLEDGE OF:

ALL SPECIALTIES

• principles of program design, implementation and evaluation

• methods of organizing and implementing short and long-range plans

• community and service organizations, colleges and universities, and other sources of

volunteer workers

• supervisory methods and techniques

• train and supervise staff engaged in implementing programs

• methods and techniques used in preparing public informational media

• interviewing methods and practices

URBAN FORESTRY SPECIALTY

• principles, practices, methods, and equipment used in an urban arboricultural program

• equipment and supplies required to conduct a variety of urban forestry programs

• resource development strategies applicable to urban forestry programs

• current trends and developments in the field of urban forestry

URBAN GARDENING SPECIALTY

· the functions and techniques of urban agriculture and community garden programs

· greenhouse/hoop house operations

· irrigation systems

· soil health and science

· organic growing practices

· integrated pest management

· large municipal park systems

· Stormwater Management Practices

SKILL IN:

ALL SPECIALTIES

· speaking effectively before public groups

· techniques of building community meetings, identifying community leaders and leadership opportunities, and connecting people to meaningful resources

· working in diverse communities

· training community volunteers

· delivering public presentations

· developing and delivering capacity-building workshops

· project and event management

· use of hand tools and power tools related to urban greening in a training capacity

· computer literate and comfortable with social media

ABILITY TO:

ALL SPECIALTIES

• comply with departmental rules and regulations

• assess needs for volunteer services and capacity

• coordinate public, community and private resources to produce a comprehensive citywide urban greening program

• engage and manage community resources and partnerships with local volunteers, civic and social organizations

• train and supervise staff engaged in implementing programs

• present ideas effectively, both orally and in writing

• establish and maintain effective working relationships with stewardship groups, volunteers, departmental personnel, community groups, organizational program partners and the general public

• conduct interviews and recruit qualified seasonal staff, volunteers and interns

• allocate and monitor budgeting for community-based programs in the area of specialization

URBAN GARDENING SPECIALTY

· prepare reports for publication

· disseminate information about city programs and other environmental projects affecting neighborhoods

MINIMUM ACCEPTABLE TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE (The following statement represents the minimum training and experience standards which will be used to admit or reject applicants for tests. Applications submitted by candidates for this class will be reviewed based on training and experience requirements as approved on 7/20.)

EDUCATION:

URBAN FORESTRY SPECIALTY

Completion of a bachelor’s degree program at an accredited college or university with major course work in horticulture, forestry, or arboriculture.

ALL OTHER SPECIALTIES:

Completion of a bachelor’s degree program at an accredited college or university.

AND

GENERAL EXPERIENCE:

PARK USAGE & STEWARDSHIP SPECIALTY

Four years of experience implementing community projects which has included two years of engaging community residents, community organizations, corporate entities and individuals in park stewardship activities.

URBAN GARDENING SPECIALTY

Four years of paid experience implementing urban agriculture and community garden projects which has included two or more years of experience engaging community residents, community organizations, corporate entities and individuals.

URBAN FORESTRY SPECIALTY

Two years of paid urban forestry experience.

AND

SPECIFIC EXPERIENCE:

URBAN FORESTRY SPECIALTY

Two years of urban forestry programming experience for a large municipal agency, which has included community organizing experience or environmental education experience.

PHYSICAL AND MEDICAL REQUIREMENTS

Ability to physically perform the duties and to work in the environmental conditions required of a position in this class.

LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS AND/OR CERTIFICATES

URBAN GARDENING SPECIALTY ONLY

Possession of a valid proper class motor vehicle operator's license as issued by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania prior to appointment and during tenure of employment as the Urban Greening Coordinator.

URBAN FORESTRY SPECIALTY ONLY

Possession of a current certification through the International Society of Arboriculture as a Certified Arborist within one year of appointment and during tenure of appointment.

Class Established:

CSC – 4/14

Ad. Board – 5/14

Spec. Revision:

CSC – 12/19

Ad. Board – 1/20

Latest Spec. Revision:

CSC – 6/20

Ad. Board – 7/20