Birmingham Alabama Botanical Gardens — Sumac – a native shrub. The berries of the sumac were used by Native American to make a “kool-aid – like drink” –

Do you have a deep affection for Alabama’s native plants?

This week, Bham Now received info from our good friends at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens information about a “native plant internship” funded by The Little Garden Club of Birmingham.

Below are the details/job description. If you love working with native plants, this is a dream internship.

Native Plant Internship – $15/hr.
Deadline approaching (this Friday, March 17th)

The Little Garden Club of Birmingham, AL, is funding a native plant internship at Birmingham Botanical Gardens, a City of Birmingham facility. The internship is an excellent opportunity for a full-time college student or recent graduate to learn skills in applied horticulture and to gain practical experience toward a career in public horticulture, with an emphasis on native plants of the southeastern United States. The intern will work under the supervision of the Curator of the Kaul Wildflower Garden for the duration of the internship.

The internship is open to a rising junior or senior attending a four-year college or university full-time or to a recent graduate (within the last 12 months) of a two-or four-year college. Preference will be given to students majoring in horticulture, landscape design, landscape architecture, biology, botany, ecology, plant science and environmental science or a closely related discipline, as determined by the selection committee.

Starting and ending dates for this internship are flexible based on the availability of the intern but will last 12 consecutive weeks at 40 hours per week. Eight-hour days will normally be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, with a non-paid hour break for lunch. Pay is fifteen dollars ($15) per hour. Tools and safety gear will be provided. The intern will be treated much as other employees, with the same expectations for proper dress, punctuality, work ethic and appropriate behavior, including safety awareness. The intern will participate in staff meetings, outings and paid holidays that occur during the internship.

Work and instruction will center on the study and conservation of native plants of the southeastern United States and may focus on disciplines central to public garden management and maintenance, including the principles of plant propagation, greenhouse and nursery production, planting, grounds maintenance, arboriculture, pest and weed management and the curatorial aspects of plant collections. Depending on the interests of the intern, work and instruction may include plant display design, child and adult education, and visitor and volunteer programs. The intern will work in various gardens at Birmingham Botanical Gardens with native plant collections: the Kaul Wildflower Garden, Barber Alabama Woodlands, Bog Gardens and others. The intern may be asked to work alongside other interns as time allows.

The intern also will be given time to attend relevant local meetings, events, lectures and field trips with staff. The intern also may work on an on-going project of his or her interest. Time will be provided each week by Birmingham Botanical Gardens staff to instruct the intern on a tutorial basis.

Birmingham Alabama — Golden Alexander – native host plant for the black swallowtail

Candidates must provide a 1-2 page resume, a statement in approximately 200 words of professional objectives regarding the internship, a reference from his or her academic advisor (who is knowledgeable of the candidate’s scholastic standing toward graduation) and are required to have proof of a valid driver’s license (exceptions may be granted on a case-by-case basis, for example, for disabled but otherwise qualified applicants). Candidates are encouraged to be thorough, detailed, grammatically accurate and concise with their applications. All materials must be received by 5 p.m., Friday, March 17, 2017. If a suitable candidate is not selected by that date, applications will be accepted until one is. Materials should be submitted electronically. It is the candidate’s obligation to ensure the receipt of application materials by Birmingham Botanical Gardens by the deadline. Candidates may be asked to interview with representatives of Friends of Birmingham Botanical Gardens.

The intern will be employed by Birmingham Botanical Society, Inc., dba Friends of Birmingham Botanical Gardens, an education-based non-profit organization that has partnered with the city for 50 years in the operation of Birmingham Botanical Gardens.

Friends of Birmingham Botanical Gardens encourages any candidate who meets the qualifications above to apply. It is the policy of Friends of Birmingham Botanical Gardens to make all employment decisions including but not limited to recruiting, hiring, training, assignment, promotion, compensation, discipline and termination without unlawful regard for age, race, creed, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, national origin, veteran status or exercising a protected right. Interns must be able to provide their own room, board and transportation.
Please email application materials or requests for more information to:

John Manion
Kaul Wildflower Garden Curator
jmanion@bbgardens.org

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