2026 Summer Farm Specialist
Urban Adamah is an educational farm and community center in Berkeley, California that integrates the practices of Jewish tradition, mindfulness, sustainable agriculture, and social action to build loving, just, and sustainable communities. We provide training programs, educational workshops, and community celebrations for more than 10,000 visitors annually.
Every summer, Urban Adamah offers an outdoor summer camp for kids ages 3 – 14 . Summer Camp features hands-on projects and activities exploring themes that integrate nature-connection, crafts, farming, community-building, and Jewish values. Camp Urban Adamah is designed to create a space for children to thrive and express their natural curiosity and passion, all within a vibrant, loving, and inclusive Jewish community. Our counselors and specialists ensure that children of different ages can have joyful experiences within a small group of peers.
Daily activities in Urban Adamah Summer Camp include gardening, feeding chickens and collecting eggs, music and stories, farm-to-fork food preparation, arts and crafts, nature connection activities, and more. We do everything through the lens of Jewish tradition and storytelling, whether it be through our shomrei adamah farm activities, nature-based art projects, or eco-mitzvot songs. We open and close every day as a whole camp community with circle time, songs, storytelling, and acts of love and kindness.
Every summer, Urban Adamah offers an outdoor summer camp for kids ages 3 – 14 . Summer Camp features hands-on projects and activities exploring themes that integrate nature-connection, crafts, farming, community-building, and Jewish values. Camp Urban Adamah is designed to create a space for children to thrive and express their natural curiosity and passion, all within a vibrant, loving, and inclusive Jewish community. Our counselors and specialists ensure that children of different ages can have joyful experiences within a small group of peers.
Daily activities in Urban Adamah Summer Camp include gardening, feeding chickens and collecting eggs, music and stories, farm-to-fork food preparation, arts and crafts, nature connection activities, and more. We do everything through the lens of Jewish tradition and storytelling, whether it be through our shomrei adamah farm activities, nature-based art projects, or eco-mitzvot songs. We open and close every day as a whole camp community with circle time, songs, storytelling, and acts of love and kindness.
About The Role
Specialists work 35 hours a week at camp and on the farm. Summer specialists lead daily activity blocks for summer campers, and work on the farm, tending to the land and doing animal care. Some specialists may be expected to help counselors with other camp needs as well. Specialists will receive free housing, programming and learning sessions, and a stipend. During the day they are expected to develop and plan activities and collaborate with their peers to make camp as rich and deep as possible.
ACTIVITY LEADER
The Summer Specialists are responsible for planning and facilitating 2-3 farm education sessions per day for campers ages 3-14 that bring the magic of the farm to life. Each specialist is assigned to one camp group per session. With this camp group, the specialists will run fun, farm based educational programming.. Some examples of this might be, making bread from scratch, feeding the worms in our vermicompost bins, turning the compost, making cookies in the solar oven, building with cob, binding and writing in nature journals, harvesting vegetables, making farm tacos, etc. The Summer Specialists are responsible for knowing what is happening on the farm and for bringing the campers into that magic through art, storytelling, mindfulness, experimentation, and experiential activities.These sessions are the core of what makes Urban Adamah Camp such a rich experience for the campers. Specialists are encouraged to be creative and design farm education sessions from a place of their own interests, skills, and what they want to learn and teach within this context.
FARM LEARNING
The Summer Specialists are responsible for working closely with the farm team to work the land, including but not limited to planting, harvesting, weeding, animal chores, watering, and farm maintenance. The farm team will teach and train specialists so that they can meaningfully engage in farm work, as well as lead campers in farm work.
COMMUNAL LIVING
As a core part of this program, specialists live together on site. Urban Adamah staff provide specialists with frameworks to help them develop a robust Jewish communal life in the time that they are living together on the farm.
JEWISH LEARNING
There will be opportunities for Jewish learning over the course of the summer with our Education team staff. We will learn about shabbat and its rituals, the basics of earth-based Judaism, and Jewish agricultural traditions, among other things.
ACTIVITY LEADER
The Summer Specialists are responsible for planning and facilitating 2-3 farm education sessions per day for campers ages 3-14 that bring the magic of the farm to life. Each specialist is assigned to one camp group per session. With this camp group, the specialists will run fun, farm based educational programming.. Some examples of this might be, making bread from scratch, feeding the worms in our vermicompost bins, turning the compost, making cookies in the solar oven, building with cob, binding and writing in nature journals, harvesting vegetables, making farm tacos, etc. The Summer Specialists are responsible for knowing what is happening on the farm and for bringing the campers into that magic through art, storytelling, mindfulness, experimentation, and experiential activities.These sessions are the core of what makes Urban Adamah Camp such a rich experience for the campers. Specialists are encouraged to be creative and design farm education sessions from a place of their own interests, skills, and what they want to learn and teach within this context.
FARM LEARNING
The Summer Specialists are responsible for working closely with the farm team to work the land, including but not limited to planting, harvesting, weeding, animal chores, watering, and farm maintenance. The farm team will teach and train specialists so that they can meaningfully engage in farm work, as well as lead campers in farm work.
COMMUNAL LIVING
As a core part of this program, specialists live together on site. Urban Adamah staff provide specialists with frameworks to help them develop a robust Jewish communal life in the time that they are living together on the farm.
JEWISH LEARNING
There will be opportunities for Jewish learning over the course of the summer with our Education team staff. We will learn about shabbat and its rituals, the basics of earth-based Judaism, and Jewish agricultural traditions, among other things.
About You
CHILDREN-ORIENTED & PLAYFUL:
INTEREST IN SUSTAINABLE FARMING:
ADAPTABLE PROBLEM-SOLVER:
STRONG COMMUNICATOR:
The physical demands listed below are representative of those that must be met by an employee in this position. Some accommodations may be made to enable people with disabilities to succeed in the role:
- Love spending time with children ages 3-14
- Engage children with respect and model awe, compassion, and curiosity
- Believe that all children have a right to be in relationship to nature and other human beings
INTEREST IN SUSTAINABLE FARMING:
- You are interested in the practice of sustainable farming. Prior farming experience is not necessary; however, an openness to learn, do physical work on the farm, and get your hands dirty is essential.
- You want to live on a farm in an urban setting and are excited about deepening your experience with farm life and children. You are receptive to feedback and taking direction, and are eager to improve your own abilities in farming, facilitation, education, and working with children, while also being open to learning new skills.
ADAPTABLE PROBLEM-SOLVER:
- Are a creative problem solver and are adaptable in the presence of strong emotions and/or needs
- Easefully navigate urgent situations, identifying and tending to physical and emotional safety priorities
STRONG COMMUNICATOR:
- Demonstrate patience, compassion and understanding while maintaining strong boundaries and communicating clear expectations
- Enjoy listening to and offering feedback
- Are flexible and are generally willing to try new things
- You have a desire to explore and share Jewish environmental wisdom and spirituality, and farming (Jewish background / knowledge is not necessary)
- You are excited about collaborating with colleagues to maintain a positive work environment.
- You consistently show up on time and ready to dive into the work.
The physical demands listed below are representative of those that must be met by an employee in this position. Some accommodations may be made to enable people with disabilities to succeed in the role:
- Typing, writing, reading, hearing, and speaking
- Standing and walking for several hours, as well as sitting, squatting, crawling, climbing, and lifting up to 40 lbs.
- Farm work including but not limited to planting, harvesting, weeding, animal chores, watering, and farm maintenance.
Additional Details
COMPENSATION
This is a temporary, full-time seasonal position. Specialists will work 35 hours per week (including 20 hours in camp of lesson planning and facilitation, and 10 hours of farm work). Specialists will receive free housing, programming and learning sessions, and a $2500 stipend. Specialists live on the farm itself in a modern building with a large, well-equipped kitchen and plenty of communal living space. Specialists will be in charge of their own food purchasing and meal preparation.
SCHEDULE
Arrival and Move in: June 1st
Staff Training : June 2 - 6 | 9am - 5pm
Summer Camp: June 8th - August 7 | Monday - Friday 8am - 3pm
Move-out: August 7-9th
*Schedule notes:
SUPERVISION
This position is supervised by the Farm and Educational Programs Manager.
This is a temporary, full-time seasonal position. Specialists will work 35 hours per week (including 20 hours in camp of lesson planning and facilitation, and 10 hours of farm work). Specialists will receive free housing, programming and learning sessions, and a $2500 stipend. Specialists live on the farm itself in a modern building with a large, well-equipped kitchen and plenty of communal living space. Specialists will be in charge of their own food purchasing and meal preparation.
SCHEDULE
Arrival and Move in: June 1st
Staff Training : June 2 - 6 | 9am - 5pm
Summer Camp: June 8th - August 7 | Monday - Friday 8am - 3pm
Move-out: August 7-9th
*Schedule notes:
- There is no camp on June 19th or July 3rd. On those days, specialists will not be leading sessions, but may still have farm work and/or chores.
SUPERVISION
This position is supervised by the Farm and Educational Programs Manager.
Application Details
APPLICATION SUBMISSION INCLUDES:
Cover letter, resume and two professional references with how you know them.
Applications will be received and reviewed until May 1st, 2025. After this time, we may continue to review applications on a rolling basis, however, we encourage candidates to apply before the deadline and/or as soon as possible. If you have any questions about the application or the position, please contact Zev@urbanadamah.org.