Find your place in the field of good food

Our goal is to connect good people with good food. We advertise sustainable food jobs and training opportunities to help jobseekers and employers find each other.

Roots to Work is a project of Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming.

Job description

Are you part of the next generation of food growers? Are you looking to develop your skills in sustainable horticulture and be part of a community-led organisation? Do you want to build positive change within the food system? 

We're delighted to recruit two seasonal trainees between 18-25 years old to join our production team for the coming growing season. This is an exciting position, perfect for new entrants looking for hands on experience. 

This is a community-driven, small-scale market garden site rooted in agroecological principles. Following the lead of our growers, the apprentice positions includes hands-on training in the following:

• agroecological, chemical free growing practices 
• growing plants from seed
• propagation
• vertical glasshouse cropping
• organic pest control
• leading and supporting volunteers

We particularly welcome applications from people currently underrepresented in the horticulture/farming sector such as people with disabilities, neurodivergence, POC and people from LGBTQIA+ communities.

About Wolves Lane

Wolves Lane Centre in Haringey is a former council-run plant nursery and community food growing centre in the heart of North London. 

We grow and distribute sustainably-produced food and plants and offer a hub for education, enterprise and events. Our aim is to make good food accessible to all. We’ve recently redeveloped the site to enrich Wolves Lane as a thriving and sustainable community green space. This was thanks to funding from the National Lottery and the Mayor of London’s Good Growth Fund.

Black Rootz are an organisation operating within and with Wolves Lane. They are a Black-led enterprise with a focus on social justice, specialising in rich cross-cultural histories and growing practices from across the diaspora.

About the role

This position will focus on methods of growing using agroecological principles, working to enrich living biodiverse systems rather than deplete them. Work will be shared between the main glasshouse site and our sister site, Pasteur Gardens. At both sites, you'll be growing field and vertical crops for a range of outlets such as markets, our farm stall, restaurants and local consumers. 

For this position, we're looking for people interested in pursuing a livelihood as a food grower or landworker, seeking to gain the relevant skills and experience. You'll have the opportunity to work as part of the Production team between the Wolves Lane and Black Rootz Growers. 

• Salary: London Living Wage (£13.85 an hour) 
• Hours: 7 hour days 3 days a week, increasing to 4 days a week for May only 
• Employment period: 34 weeks (March 2025 - October 2025)
• Application deadline: January 22nd 2025
• Interviews: 29th January 2025

Application information

How to apply

Please read the role description and person specification below. Attach a cover letter or video explaining why you would like to work here and what makes you right for this role. We welcome applications even if you feel you don’t yet fulfil every element of the specification. 

Please send your application and equality monitoring form to ella.grows@wolveslane.org, with ‘Apprentice Grower and (your name)’ in the subject line. 

Main responsibilities

Apprentices will learn all aspects of running our urban growing project and horticulture centre by:

• Assisting the growers on site 3 days a week practising agroecological methods, split between Wolves Lane and Black Rootz Growers
• Work closely with the Growers to learn all aspects of running the glasshouses, outdoor beds and composting systems
• Harvesting produce ensuring quality control, preparing and packing produce
• Supporting and supervising volunteers

Person specification

Essential

• An interest and passion for sustainable food growing within diverse community settings
• At least one season’s experience volunteering or working on a food growing site or garden
• Happy and able to do physical work, mainly outdoors throughout the year 
• A desire to work with and learn to lead volunteers
• Ability to carry out shared tasks and work effectively within a team  

Desirable

• Experience of volunteering or working in a diverse community setting   
• Experience of paid employment in horticulture or a horticulture 
• Level 1 or 2 horticultural qualification or equivalent 

Diversity monitoring and protection

Wolves Lane is committed to eliminating discrimination encouraging diversity amongst our workforce. We won't discriminate based on age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, marital status, and disability.  To help make sure our recruitment process is fair and equitable, we collect diversity data from applicants, using the separate equalities monitoring form.  

Please mention Roots to Work when applying for these jobs