Educational Farm Director

About North Country School & Camp Treetops

Located on the outskirts of Lake Placid, NY, Camp Treetops and North Country School sit on a 220-acre campus amid majestic mountain peaks in New York State’s Adirondack Park. Since 1921 and 1938 respectively, we have been nationally renowned for pioneering educational programs rooted in progressive practices and experiential learning. Both Camp and School guide children to engage the natural world, take on intellectual and physical challenges in a nurturing community, and cultivate independence and creativity. 

Position Overview

North Country School and Camp Treetops seek a full-time Educational Farm Director to oversee and manage their working campus farm and garden, a resource utilized year-round to facilitate learning for children in the middle years and a centerpiece of the organization’s hands-on, place-based learning experience. This includes supporting students and campers as active participants in the farm’s daily activities and helping them to understand both the hard work it takes to grow, care for, and raise food, and the importance of knowing where their food comes from.

What You Will Do

Along with your dedicated farm team, you will work closely with School faculty and Camp counselors to integrate the farm and garden into academic curricula and daily activities, including chores, field and barn work, and community-wide events such as Chicken Harvest and Potato Harvest. You will be deeply embedded within the campus community as you manage the care of resident animals, growing, tending to, and harvesting the farm’s crops, and teaching students and campers about the benefits of sustainable farming practices, including composting over 100,000 pounds of food scraps annually. Here’s how this breaks down throughout the year: 

Farm and Garden Management (60% of time)

As the organization’s farm leader, your work will primarily focus on carrying on the organization’s rich, century-long farming tradition. You will:

• Oversee all operations of the farm and garden throughout the year, including seasonal activities like maple sugaring
• Thoughtfully lead and guide farm staff in their work
• Collaborate with the Executive Chef to ensure a regular supply of seasonal foods for campus kitchens
• Align your work with strategic organizational goals through planning, budgeting, and creative efforts
• Facilitate a sense of connectedness for the broader community
• Work in collaboration with teams across advancement, admissions, communications, facilities, and other key departments

Educational Instruction and Engagement (30% of time)

During the school year, you will work deeply with faculty to develop cross-curricular learning experiences for students that utilize the farm as an extension of the classroom. This will extend to Camp in the summertime as you help counselors facilitate engaging learning experiences across the farm and garden. Year-round, you will also collaborate closely with Edible Schoolyard (ESY) staff in our Teaching and Learning Kitchen (TLK) and mentor your team of dedicated seasonal and year-round farm interns.

Community Engagement (10% of time)

Beyond our own community, we are committed to being active participants in our broader community here in the Adirondacks and the world of farming. To ensure we remain connected to others outside our campus, you will forge unique partnerships with local and regional schools to share our farm and garden as a broader educational resource to educators across the region, seek to amplify ourselves as thought leaders in the world of farm education and partner with other like minded organizations doing the same, and actively engage in a global farm-to-school school community through sharing practices and learning from others.

The Skills You Bring to Our Community

• Proven leadership experience and demonstrated ability to engage community in the values and work of farming
• Previous leadership experience in which you inspired, effectively led a team, and made those around you feel celebrated and valued
• Experience building and delivering a farm-based curriculum
• Previous work with children and introducing the importance of work, empathy, food systems, regenerative and climate-resilient agriculture, and organizational values learned through farming
• A strong background in agriculture, knowledge of animal care, background in animal management, and competence with farm machinery are required
• Experience with horses and an ability to work closely with Camp and School riding staff who oversee a robust riding program
• Supplemental basic carpentry, masonry, plumbing, electrical, and mechanical skills are beneficial

The Values You Bring to Our Community 

• Passion for farming’s educational benefits and character enhancement of children 
• Deep appreciation for environmental stewardship and how healthy agricultural practices can positively impact the world
• A collaborative mindset that leads to impactful experiential learning experiences
• Curiosity and a desire to continuously learn
• Warmth, grace, kindness, and a willingness to step outside your comfort zone
• Independence and ability to be a self-starter

The Benefits of Working Here

In addition to a salary of between $60-90K annually (dependent upon experience), you will enjoy:

• On-campus housing
• Health insurance 
• A retirement plan with TIAA
• Personal time off
• Paid family leave
• Tuition remission for North Country School & Camp Treetops
• Childcare stipend
• Farm-fresh meals 

How to Apply

North Country School in Lake Placid, NY, has engaged DovetailED to lead a search for an Educational Farm Director. Interested candidates should review the opportunity statement and submit a cover letter, resume, and list of references as a consolidated PDF to Zack Lehman, President of DovetailED Talent Sourcing, at zack@dovetailedsourcing.com.                   

North Country School Educational Farm Director Opportunity Statement:  https://bit.ly/4dnqXHb.

Our Mission and Values

North Country School and Camp Treetops strives to create a community that gives children the self-confidence, knowledge, skills, and values to lead satisfying and productive lives while contributing to their world.

We are a values-driven community and seek to have a positive impact the world around us by living out our core values on and off campus:

• Cultivate Community: We believe in the inherent value and contributions of every person, and in fostering connections to build and nurture a strong, inclusive community.
• Walk a Mile: We believe that understanding and honoring every person’s unique worldview, experiences, and challenges is at the root of empathy and compassion.
• Dig Deep, Keep Growing: We believe that by setting ambitious goals, working hard, and persevering, we build strength and character and set a course for lives of growth, purpose, and fulfillment.
• Stay Curious: We believe in the power of creativity and wonder. We believe that curiosity about ourselves, other people, and the world around us leads to growth, innovation, and sometimes unconventional ideas.
• Our Planet, Our Job: We believe in individual and collective responsibility for our planet, and in leading by example as a community that works to respect, protect, and restore the natural world.

The 5 Guiding Principles of our Farm

Through active, daily participation in our farm and garden, children will:

1. Learn to care for an animal and know what it means to nurture another being.
2. Begin to understand where their food comes from and participate in the process of growing and harvesting food.
3. Gain a sense of the life cycle of plants and animals, and the interconnectedness of all organisms.
4. Recognize the importance of their contributions to the functioning of our community.
5. Develop a strong connection to the natural world and a future interest in protecting it.