September 2023 Update:
We are currently hiring for the following positions: 

Nursery Associate - Part Time (Monday & weekend availability mandatory )

If you are someone who can begin and follow through on projects to completion, set and achieve high standards of conduct and are alert and sensitive to problems, you just may be the perfect team member we are looking for. Small scale agricultural work can be physically challenging but also requires attention to detail, initiative when working independently and on a team, and an engaging level of focus on the task at hand.

As a Nursery Associate your main responsibilities will be making plants with the team & providing customers with retail help on the weekends. Making plants means seeding & up potting our inventory of organic seedlings. Seeding is the starting of seeds in trays of germination mix, and involves attention to detail when making the germination mix and keeping track of whats being seeded and when. Up potting is the process of taking the baby plants from the seeding tray and putting them in larger pots so they can mature and then be sold.  While it may sound simple theres lots to learn about making healthy plants and keeping plants happy organically, so we will train you how to properly water, fertilize, manage pests and organize the greenhouse.

Our nursery is open to the public on Saturdays & Sundays so you will also be responsible for assisting customers on days that we are open. Retail shifts involve setting up our small checkout area, helping customers find the plants they need, and checking them out. Additional responsibilities on retail days include spot watering the greenhouse to keep the plants happy, and performing some side work tasks when customers aren't around. Our store is more of a working nursery that allows the public than it is a retail center, so you will also be expected to make plants and seed in between customers throughout the day. 

Everyone who works at our nursery also participates in general maintenance of the potting area and our property including participating in clean up after work days, weeding & weed whacking around the space, emptying out used or bad trays of plants into our farm compost, packing our vans with plants for market and general greenhouse care and maintenance. Many tasks like seeding & up potting will be done as a team in our potting house and while we enjoy talking as a team, listening to music, and getting to know each other we also strive to maintain an efficiency with our tasks that is critical for our operation. Its quite meditative & precise hand-based work so the ability to talk and focus on the task at hand is critical. 

Our team members are all expected to eventually be able to identify all plants by sight and retain some fun info about each plant and how to care for it, use it, etc. and answer basic questions about gardening. We provide you with extensive training, paid time to use our website to learn about our plants, and free participation in our educational workshops. 

This position requires moderate physical fitness (the ability lift 50 pounds regularly throughout the day) and all work will take place outdoors and can sometimes be quite hot (although the potting shed we work in is shaded). We work during all types of weather including intense rainstorms and heat. You will be expected to be comfortable using small gas powered tools like a weed whacker, pressure washer and lawn mower (we provide training and safety equipment) and using basic farm tools like shovels, pitchforks, etc. 

Starting pay is 17$/ hour. We ask for a 6 week training & trial period before we commit to each other. Raises are given generously to those who excel in the unique work environment of the greenhouse. 

For aspiring plant lovers you will  have access to free plants aging out of our nursery on a weekly basis, free participation in our educational workshops, and access to fresh organic produce from our family garden. This job takes place at an agricultural property in the Redlands, so you would need to be able to reliably commute to and from the Redlands from your residence for work and you will occasionally be asked to drive our plant-mobile (sprinter van) from our outpost property in Little River to the Nursery & back.

IMPORTANT: Mandatory work days for this position are MONDAYS, TUESDAYS & SATURDAYS with occasional Sunday or Friday shifts. Expect a guaranteed 3 work days per week at a minimum through March, after which we reevaluate our schedules and reduce hours when necessary. 

How to apply:

Send us an email to Tiffany@littlerivercooperative.com with the subject line "job application" and make sure to include your contact info (name, phone number, email address). Copy and paste the following questions and answer them.  

1. What is it about this job description that made you think this position was for you?
   
2. What are your 3 strongest attributes and how do they relate to this position?
   
3. Why are you well suited to this position?
   
4. What is your biggest success?
5. Also please confirm that the conditions of the job (days of the week, location, pay) have been read and understood.