Internships - Horticulture (3 months)
Three-month Horticulture Internship opportunities (Paid)
Intern (1) - English Walled Garden
Intern (1) - Japanese Garden
Intern (1) - Rose and Heritage Gardens
Intern (1) - Regenstein Learning Campus and Welcome Projects
Intern (2) - Plant Production Greenhouse and Nursery
Exemption Status: Non-exempt
Department: Horticulture Operations Administration
Reports to: Senior Horticulturists, Manager
Seasonal Full-time (three months) anticipated to start in May 2023
Position Overview for English Walled Garden, Japanese Garden, Rose and Heritage Gardens, and Regenstein Learning Campus and Welcome Projects interns:
Learn how to properly maintain a public display garden by working with a senior horticulturist and team of staff and volunteers.
Attend regular staff meetings, field trips, and weekly intern meetings with guest speakers to learn about general Garden operations.
Assigned gardens may include the following:
English Walled Garden, Circle Garden, Sensory Garden, Waterfall Garden, Dwarf Conifer Garden, and the Lakeside Gardens; Japanese Garden, Evening Island, Green Roof and the Evaluation Gardens; Rose and Heritage Gardens, Esplanade, Aquatic Garden, Farwell Landscape Garden, Crescent Garden, Fruit & Vegetable Garden, Bulb Garden, Model Railroad Garden, and Spider Island; Regenstein Learning Campus and Welcome Projects, Entrance Gardens, Parking Lots, and Welcome Plaza; Entrance Gardens, Parking Lots, and Regenstein Learning Campus.
Responsibilities:
In this role you will be responsible for the following:
- Assist horticulturists with routine garden maintenance including weeding, watering, pruning, mowing, planting, deadheading, grooming perennials, mulching, labeling, fertilizing, and removing debris.
- Prepare and lead a 15- to 20-minute tour of your assigned garden areas highlighting your experiences throughout the season for other horticulture staff.
Position Overview for Plant Production and Greenhouse Nursery interns:
Learn about plant production by rotating through and working with the growers in the five divisions of the Plant Production Department. These divisions include the nursery, indoor floriculture, outdoor floriculture, orchids, and plant propagation. Attend staff meetings, field trips, and weekly intern meetings with guest speakers during the summer to learn about general botanic garden operations.
RESPONSIBILITIES
In this role you will be responsible for the following:
- Work with the nursery supervisor to produce a broad range of plants including trees, shrubs, perennials, native plants, and aquatics through potting, transplanting, fertilizing, weeding, spacing pots, setting up irrigation, watering, and pruning.
- Work with the indoor floriculturist to produce crops for interior displays, education programs, and special events through potting, pruning, fertilizing, watering, grooming, and training.
- Work with the outdoor floriculturist to produce crops for spring, summer, and fall annual displays through potting, watering, pinching, fertilizing, and spacing.
- Work with the orchid floriculturist in the care and maintenance of the orchid collection and other tropical collection plants.
- Work with the plant propagator to propagate plants through sowing seeds, taking cuttings, making divisions, stratifying and scarifying seeds, grafting, and budding.
- Assist with delivery of plants.
- Prepare and lead a 15- to 20-minute tour around your assigned areas highlighting your experiences throughout the season for other horticulture staff.
Chicago Botanic Garden Values & Behaviors:
VALUES
As an organization, we…
BEHAVIORS
As an organization, we…
Prioritize a culture of GROWTH.
We commit to remaining curious in how we approach our work.
- Create and maintain spaces for learning.
- Test new ideas and are willing to take risks to achieve our vision.
- Collaborate to strengthen our skills and impact.
- Demonstrate perseverance and humility as we work towards our long-term impact.
Seek to UNDERSTAND.
We seek to understand others from their perspective.
- Provide opportunities for input and feedback from others.
- Actively listen to all points of view.
- Consider individuals’ lived experiences.
- Advocate for and protect time for reflection especially during times of conflict or confusion.
See one another through a lens of RESILIENCE.
We believe that all individuals can experience good outcomes with support.
- Give others the space to balance work and personal needs.
- Support others and demonstrate empathy especially during challenging and stressful times.
- Seek opportunities to learn from and about one another.
- Ask questions about and anticipate the needs of others.
Build TRUST through TRANSPARENCY
We hold ourselves and others accountable by centering decision making that honors all people.
- Communicate information in a timely manner.
- Provide clarity in complex situations with the goal of common understanding.
- Discuss both positive and negative outcomes openly.
- Evaluate the impacts of our actions.
Qualifications
Our ideal candidate will:
- Be enrolled in a college horticulture program or related field with an interest in garden maintenance. Candidates within a year of their graduation will also be considered.
- Be able to work in a fast-paced environment.
- Have good communication and interpersonal skills.
Physical Demands:
Some requirements for lifting, pushing, and pulling items up to 50 pounds. Work outside in all types of weather. Some work on stepladders.
*The Chicago Botanic Garden requires all existing employees to be fully COVID-19 vaccinated by October 15, 2021; hires after this date must be fully vaccinated upon hire or may request a medical/religious exemption after an offer is extended.*
Why Apply?
Come work in a setting that is like no other as you support our mission: We cultivate the power of plants to sustain and enrich life. Take the first step toward being one of the employees who make the Garden one of the treasures of the Forest Preserves of Cook County. Apply today. Please note that applicants who do not meet the required qualifications will not be considered.
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran, or basis of disability, or any other federal, state, or local protected class.
Disclaimer: The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities and qualifications required of personnel so classified.
In accordance with Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, Chicago Botanic Garden does not discriminate on the basis of sex in its programs or activities, including in employment or admissions. Please call (847) 835-8264 to contact our Title IX Coordinator should you have questions or concerns.