Student Parks, Recreation

Job Status: Summer Student

Union: Non-Union

Number of Positions: 8

Hours of Work: 40

Location: Various Locations

Closing Date: January 15, 2026, 11:59pm EST. Applications received after this deadline will not be accepted.

The Municipality of Chatham-Kent has openings for multiple Parks, Recreation & Cemeteries Maintenance Student positions with the Parks, Recreation & Facilities division. Locations include Blenheim, Bothwell/Clearville, Cemetery-Chatham, Chatham Parks, Dresden, Ridgetown, Thamesville, Tilbury/Wheatley and Wallaceburg.

This Parks, Recreation and Cemeteries position is broken out into three different areas of focus: Parks Maintenance, Horticulture Maintenance and Cemeteries Maintenance. Students will be placed into one of three categories based on their area of interest, experience and qualifications.

The positions will start approximately May 4, 2026, for a period up to August 28, 2026.

Job description

The Parks, Recreation & Cemeteries Maintenance Student works closely with beautification volunteers and/or municipal staff to maintain the downtown core area, parks, cemeteries and trails for the overall tidiness of their assigned community's public spaces and downtown corridors.

Essential responsibilities

• Demonstrate Chatham-Kent's core values and competencies
• Notify the Supervisor immediately of vandalism, maintenance and/or public concerns
• Painting playground equipment, waste containers, benches, park buildings, downtown fixtures, including waste containers, benches, flower boxes, etc.
• Provide customer service assistance to the public and/or tourists
• Planting and pruning of trees, shrubs, groundcover, and flowers using tools such as trowels, shovels, hoes, rakes, edgers, pruners, shears, loppers and some small equipment
• Plant maintenance of materials located in beds, boxes, planters, baskets, etc.
• Watering of plant material located in beds, boxes, planters, baskets, etc. using various watering systems
• Control unwanted weeds and grass growth
• General community cleanup and litter control, including emptying full waste containers on days when garage pickup is not scheduled
• Using various watering systems, grounds maintenance and grass cutting
• Essential responsibilities are dependent on work location (i.e., beaches, waterways, parks, etc.)

Additional Cemeteries Maintenance essential responsibilities:

• Provide weekly maintenance of Chapels, Mausoleum and other buildings on the properties
• Assist with grounds cleanup and garbage control

Additional Horticulture Maintenance essential responsibilities:

• Maintain beaches, parks and downtown areas

Additional Parks Maintenance essential responsibilities:

• Assist in preparations for community special events
• Maintain beaches, parks and downtown areas
• Maintain pathways, parking lots and bridges associated with parks
• Perform ball diamond grooming and general maintenance, as required

Essential qualifications

• To qualify for this summer student position, students must currently be enrolled in school full-time for the 2025/2026 winter term (normally ending April, May or June) and/or returning to school full-time in the 2026 fall term (normally starting in August or September)
• Preference will be given to those students that are pursuing a career in parks, recreation or sports management, horticulture, cemetery & FBCSA experience/program as well as landscape design, or landscape architecture/maintenance
• Previous ground and/or horticulture maintenance experience
• Experience providing customer service
• Experience with and knowledge of garden tools and small equipment
• Experience working independently or unsupervised, an asset

Additional Horticulture Maintenance qualifications:

• Experience with/knowledge of (including identifying and caring of) annual and perennial plants, weeds, shrubs

Additional Parks Maintenance qualifications:

• Previous experience driving farm tractors
• Previous experience working with community and special events, an asset

Additional Cemeteries Maintenance qualifications:

• Previous cemetery experience
• Experience with/knowledge of (including identifying and caring of) annual and perennial plants, weeds, shrubs

Certifications, memberships, licenses

• First Aid/CPR, an asset

Work environment/hours of work

• This position works outdoors
• This position works weekday and weekend hours

Driver's license/vehicle requirements

Because of the responsibilities, this position requires the successful candidate to have a valid class G or G2 Ontario driver's licence; a driver's abstract will be conducted by the Municipality of Chatham-Kent. An acceptable driver's abstract will: be an original document and current (within the previous thirty (30) days); have no more than four (4) demerit points; have no more than two (2) convictions for the same offence; have no criminal code convictions; have no 'non-medical or administrative' licence suspension in the preceding three (3) years; because this position may be required to drive their own vehicle, a reliable vehicle is also required.

Essential physical and/or safety requirements

Parks Maintenance essential physical and/or safety requirements:

• Because of the responsibilities of this position, students are required to be physically fit and enjoy working outdoors
• Walking: frequent walking on level surface, rough surface (up to 22.73 kgs or 50 lbs) (walking in parks; facilities; lining of sport fields, debris pick up, horticultural work, special events, trimming and grass cutting, parks and equipment checks)
• Sitting: frequent sitting in chair, vehicle seat (driving from park to park; computer work)
• Reaching: frequent lifting below shoulder, forward, handling (up to 9.09 kgs or 20 lbs) (general park cleanup; brush removal; painting, horticultural work, sending or receiving shipments, table and chair set up or take down, sweeping, mopping, special event set up)
• Standing: frequent standing inside, outside (up to 9.09 kgs or 20 lbs) (painting, raking, weed whipping, horticultural work, debris pick up, special event set up and take down, trimming)
• Hands: constant gripping (up to 9.09 kgs or 20 lbs) (garbage pickup, brush removal, computer work, lifting shipping and receiving, table and chairs, hand scrubber, mopping, sweeping, painting)
• Foot action: frequent two-foot action (raking, weed shipping, driving)

Horticulture Maintenance essential physical and/or safety requirements:

• Because of the responsibilities of this position, students should have physical strength and ability to perform moderate to heavy lifting, up to 22.73 kg (50 lbs.) while working with landscaping material, litter, etc., and be able to work outside in all weather conditions
• Bending: frequent kneeling, crouching, squatting (weeding; planting; deadheading; picking up refuse)
• Walking: frequent walking on rough surface (curbs, sidewalks, pathways; park grassland areas; river, or creek banks, sloped parkland; tilled gardens & landscaped areas)
• Reaching: frequent reaching below shoulder (tree /shrub trimming; loading equipment & debris into truck/vehicle; weeding; watering hanging baskets)
• Lifting: frequent lifting floor to waist, waist to shoulder (up to 22.73 kgs or 50 lbs) (loading refuse, plants, shrubs, trees into vehicles; moving plant materials throughout work sites; move or using tools and small equipment around and between work locations)
• Hands: frequent fine finger dexterity (movement), gripping, pinching (hand weeding; water wand, large and small hand tools; pinching back plant material)

Cemeteries Maintenance essential physical and/or safety requirements:

• Because of the responsibilities of this position, students should have the physical strength to lift up to 22.73 kg (50 lbs), and be able to work outside in all weather conditions
• Bending: frequent kneeling, crouching, squatting (pulling weeds, removing flowers, picking up garbage, planting, shoveling, racking)
• Walking: frequent walking on rough surface (over several acres of uneven ground)
• Reaching: frequent reaching above shoulder, below shoulder, forward (cleaning windows in buildings, putting garbage on trucks, weeding, painting benches and garbage receptacles)
• Lifting: frequent lifting floor to waist, waist to shoulder (up to 22.73 kgs or 50 lbs) (flats of flowers, flowerpots, flower arrangements, shoveling, grass seed, soil, wheelbarrow)

Benefits

This Parks, Recreation & Cemeteries Maintenance Student position has an hourly wage of $17.60 and will receive vacation and statutory benefits in accordance with Employment Standards Act.

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The Municipality of Chatham-Kent is an equal opportunity employer, committed to fair and accessible employment practices that attract and retain talented employees in a workplace that is inclusive, supportive, and reflective of the diverse community we serve.

Should you require accommodations during the recruitment process, please contact Human Resources & Organizational Development (HROD) at Applicant information is collected under the authority of the Municipal Freedom of Information and Privacy legislation and will be used strictly for the purpose of candidate selection.