Position: Sustainable Stouffville Program Developer 

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Who we are:
The Whitchurch-Stouffville Strawberry Festival is a community Festival that takes place in Stouffville over the Canada Day weekend. Located in the heart of the Town in Memorial Park, the Festival attracts more than 25,000 people. This year, the Festival is looking to enhance its Sustainable Stouffville initiative by growing the number of interactive activities on site and extending activities afterwards to ultimately develop a roadmap that can be used for broader engagement in the various aspects of Sustainability.

 

The Strawberry Festival is looking to hire someone to support these efforts. This opportunity has been made possible through the Legacy Fund.

Term: This is a contract position running June 5, 2023 to August 11, 2023.

Work Location: This position does not require regular attendance at an office but it does require attendance at the Strawberry Festival during the weekend of July 1&2 and perhaps in-person meetings with organizations and members of the community.

Hours & Rate: The position will be for 24 hours per week (on average) and will be paid at a rate of $20 per hour although there is expected to be some variability in terms of days and hours worked with a significant number of hours worked through the weekend of July 1 & 2, 2023. A work plan with billable hours will be established between the Committee and the successful candidate.

About the role:
Before the Festival:
The successful candidate will work with the Strawberry Festival committee to develop a number of educational activities for Festival-goers that will engage them in different aspects of sustainable living. Key themes include:

 

• Low carbon heating & cooling

• Growing and eating locally produced food

• Naturalizing gardens for better habitat for bees and butterflies

• Reducing waste through upcycle, recycle, re-use, repair

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Beginning ahead of the festival and continuing throughout and beyond, the successful candidate will develop and implement a social media strategy that will engage members of the community, draw linkages to other organizations, and build a platform for improved sustainability.

During the Festival:
In addition to overseeing the activities, this position will help gather input from Festival-goers on the following:

• What does Sustainability Mean to Me?

• What are the Barriers to me Living more Sustainably?

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Although work has begun in all of these areas, this role will be largely responsible for bringing these aspects of the Strawberry Festival together and working with Committee members to engage local businesses and like-minded organizations.

After the Festival

The Strawberry Festival would like to make these activities the “jumping-off” point to engage the community in longer term action related to Sustainability. To this end, this role will:

• Leverage social media to extend some of the events from the Strawberry Festival and maintain engagement.

• Harvest information gathered at the Festival to develop themes and activities that will engage residents and support them in taking action to live more sustainably.

• Work with the Committee and like-minded organizations to develop a roadmap of activities and goals for the 2-month, 6-month, and 12-month timeframe that can be leveraged for future planning and engagement with local businesses, politicians, and planners.

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About You:

• You are a well-organized self-starter with great communication skills. You will have demonstrated experience in planning for longer term goals and breaking them down into actionable steps.

• You are knowledgeable about one or more of the areas of focus for Sustainable Stouffville and understand how these are applied in day-to-day living.

• You are comfortable engaging with members of the public and other organizations and have strong written and verbal communication skills.

• You are able to attend the Strawberry Festival throughout the Canada Day weekend including the time needed for setup and teardown.

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Candidates are asked to send a cover letter and resume to info@strawberryfestival.ca .The position will remain open until it is filled. We thank everyone for their interest in this role - only those moving on to the interview stage will receive a response.