The Native Village of Eklutna (NVE) is community focused initiative committed to ecological resilience, food sovereignty, and hands-on education. Our land already supports a thriving garden with medicinal and native plant programs, and we are expanding our vision to become a hub for high-yield, regenerative food production and community engagement. Located on the traditional lands of the Dena’ina people, we are committed to honoring and incorporating Alaska Native knowledge systems, plants, and cultural practices into all aspects of our garden.

We are hiring a skilled and strategic Garden Manager to lead the next phase of development for our growing space. The ideal candidate will bring a deep understanding of sustainable agriculture, system design, and community-based education, with a focus on boosting food production, efficiency, and resilience. This role will focus on the daily maintenance and monitoring of plant health to ensure operational efficiency, daily livestock care (chickens and meat rabbits), staff coordination and training, facilitating communications with contractors in building key infrastructure (greenhouse, hydroponic system, rainwater harvesting system), nurturing partner relationships with Alaska Resilience Farms collective and enhancing our existing native plant programs. You’ll also continue to help shape the garden as a space for learning, gathering and empowerment by integrating workshops, volunteer programs, and outreach efforts.

Place of employment to be located at 26339 Eklutna Village Road, Chugiak, Alaska 99567, and in the field. Work hours will vary depending on project needs. Office hours are 9am-5pm M-F. Occasional longer workdays may be needed.

Key Responsibilities:

Food Production

• Propagation: Starting from seed or employing vegetative methods through cuttings, division, layering, grafting or budding. Able to perform and manage both greenhouse and hydroponic crop rotation sequences and cultivation schedules to optimize plant growth and garden productivity throughout the season.
• Watering: Daily monitoring of soil moisture and adjusting with plant needs and lifecycle. Ensure irrigation systems are running efficiently in the greenhouse and Conex with the ability to fix it as necessary.
• Planting: Adhere to the components of transplanting and direct seeding schedules, while executing sequences in a prompt manner. Ability to facilitate adaptive plant substitutions if planting cannot occur due to weather, soil conditions or other related issues.
• Weeding – Consistent, timely removal of unwanted vegetation by hand pulling and hoeing. Composts plant material following removal.
• Pest and Disease Monitoring: Ongoing assessment of developing pest populations and plant diseases throughout lifecycle. Apply effective control measures aligned with ecologically-sound practices to ensure intervention success.
• Harvesting and Post Harvest Handling: Harvest at the optimal maturity stage using appropriate tools and techniques. Train staff and volunteers to handle produce gently. Monitor volumes and track quality to identify areas for improvement. Distributes harvest on a weekly basis to the food bank with recipe pamphlets printed for community members to take home (reflecting what foods are available that week/ways of processing)
• Record Keeping/Data Logging: Logs key data and organizes it in an easily digestible manner. Includes dates, locations, plant species, symptoms, severity of symptoms (IPM/disease management), applications, outcomes of intervention, reflect changes (i.e. pivoting in planting date/location) and resource usage (water for irrigating, energy for environmental controls, media and containers, fertilizer and substrates, etc.)

Infrastructure Development
• Oversee the site preparation and initial build for Greenhouse and Conex with integrated rainwater harvesting systems
• Oversee build of livestock housing for meat/egg production

Livestock Integration
• Ensure daily access to water, food and nesting needs
• Perform weekly cleaning of rabbit hutch and chicken coop. Deposit manure to the compost pile.
• Collect, wash and distribute all eggs to the foodbank for community use.

Enhance Existing Programs

• Strengthen and expand the medicinal and native plant programs, building on what’s already in place
• Deepen integration of these plants into educational, ecological, and cultural programming

Cultural Integration
• Work collaboratively with Alaska Native community members to integrate Dena’ina knowledge, language, and values into garden layout, signage, plantings, and use
• Prioritize and protect culturally significant plants and traditional growing practices
• Create space for intergenerational knowledge sharing, storytelling, and seasonal gathering

Education & Community Engagement
• Create and support garden-based educational programs on food sovereignty, herbalism, traditional plant knowledge, and sustainable living
• Continue fostering relationship with Alaska Resilience Farms collective. Build out roadshow project plans with Alaska Resilience Farm garden champions/partners and aid in the facilitation of workshops
• Engage volunteers, students, and elders in meaningful ways that reflect respect and reciprocity

Ideal Candidate Will Have:

• 3+ years experience in sustainable agriculture, ecological garden design, or land stewardship
• Knowledge of regenerative practices, soil health, and small-scale intensive food production
• Experience designing and managing infrastructure projects (e.g. greenhouse, irrigation, hydroponics)
• Deep respect for Indigenous knowledge and a commitment to culturally rooted, community-based work
• Strong organizational and communication skills
• Ability to collaborate across cultural and generational lines with humility and openness

Wage: $25.00/hour, 31 hours per week, up to 24 weeks or 750 hours per season, whichever comes first.
Duration: April 2026 – October 2026