Our City Forest AmeriCorps (Planting Specialist, Tree Care Specialist, Nursery Specialist)

October 1 , 2025 - September 2025 (11-months)

Serve the communities of Silicon Valley.
Full-time commitment: 40 hours per week (7:30 AM – 4:00 PM Tues. – Sat)
Receive a $35,000 living stipend distributed bi-weekly
Earn $10,000 in Educational Awards

ABOUT OUR CITY FOREST

Our City Forest has been the leading urban forestry non-profit in the San José area since 1994. Our mission is to cultivate a green and healthy Silicon Valley by engaging community members in the appreciation, protection, growth, and maintenance of our urban ecosystem, especially our urban forest.

POSITION SUMMARY

Silicon Valley Climate Corps service members are sponsored in part by the National Service organization, AmeriCorps, and are expected to commit to a term of service. Team Members will have training at the beginning of the term. Each Team Member will be assigned to a primary team, but will support other groups when needed. The teams are Community Tree Planting, Tree Care, or Community Nursery.

All members will:

Be trained on the best practices of maintaining a green and healthy urban forest in the Silicon Valley
Train and engage with volunteers of all ages and abilities roughly three days a week.
Strive to build capacity in the community and maximize volunteer participation in their individual programs, acting as coaches and coordinators.
Provide friendly, professional customer service to community members.
Act as OCF ambassadors and pass along potential greening opportunities to OCF Managers and Technicians.
Database volunteer hours and events.
Assist team with special community events.

JOB DESCRIPTIONS PER TEAM

The proportion of field-to-office work varies with program and team assignment and different roles will be assigned depending on interests, skills, and the team’s needs as decided by the team manager.

Planting Team responsibilities and tasks

Work outside with a team and volunteers at least once a week, planting trees in neighborhoods, schools, and parks.
Participate in fieldwork necessary for project preparation, and project day execution.
Assist residents with tree planting and maintenance needs; provide excellent and professional customer service to accommodate their requests.
Educate residents on best water-wise landscaping and planting practices.
Organize planting projects, call and email qualified residents and go on site visits.
Correspond and schedule appointments with community members about their planting; plan logistics and enter data for each tree planting project.

Tree Care Team responsibilities and tasks

Work outside caring for newly planted trees at homes, schools, parks, and public spaces.
Participate in fieldwork necessary for project preparation, and project day execution
Assist residents with tree planting and maintenance needs; provide excellent and professional customer service to accommodate their requests
Educate residents on best water-wise landscaping and planting practices
Correspond with community members and residents and provide tree care resources
Schedule tree assessments for newly planted trees.
Conduct grassroots community outreach and organizing such as neighborhood door-knocking and calling schools and churches to advertise services

Nursery Team responsibilities and tasks

Provide friendly customer service to community visitors during open hours.
Implement best nursery care practices assigned by the Nursery Management team, including but not limited to invasive species removal and executing best watering techniques for nursery plants.
Learn and implement best pruning and care techniques for young trees and shrubs in containers.
Maintain the Nursery’s tree and shrub inventory system.
Propagate, cultivate, and transplant shrubs, grasses, and trees.
Lead volunteer groups three days a week.
Train and engage with volunteers of all ages and abilities.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

U.S. Citizen or legal resident, with a high school diploma or equivalent, minimum age: 18
Interest in affecting change through community organizing
Ability to work well with diverse groups of people
Must be available to work full time, 7:30 am - 4 pm, Tuesday - Saturday (shifts may start earlier, depending on team’s needs)
Must be able to commit through the end of the service term
Agree to complete a fingerprint-based (livescan) background check and Truescreen (name verification) background check

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Valid driver’s license
Strong written & oral communication skills
Spanish, Vietnamese, and Mandarin speakers interested in reaching out to the communities of San José
Local, Bay Area residents are preferred, but all are welcome to apply (Note: we do not provide housing)
Familiar with ornamental and native tree and shrub species identification
Knowledge or experience working with irrigation
Experience with landscape design and/or landscaping
FileMaker Pro, Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe CS, Sketch Up software knowledge
Graphic design, app development, programming, or website maintenance experience

Application Timeline:

Step 1 (optional): Email your resume and cover letter to americorps@ourcityforest.org OR complete the OR apply through Indeed.
Step 2: Apply through the AmeriCorps Website (Listing ID: 127150)
Step 3: Qualified applicants will be contacted within 5-7 business days for an interview*.
Step 4: Complete a Background check. (estimated time 2-4 weeks) *timeline will depend on number of applications received

Application Deadlines:

Application Deadline: 09/08/2025

Applications received after 09/08/2025 may be considered based off of availability and the timely completion of background checks.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $3,100.00 - $3,300.00 per month

Application Question(s):

We use Indeed to connect with interested applicants. To be considered for this role, you must complete an application through the official AmeriCorps website and agree to a background check. Do you acknowledge and agree to this requirement?

Ability to Commute:

San Jose, CA 95110 (Required)

Work Location: In person

Our City Forest

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