Breeding and Curation Intern
Passionate about plants, botanical gardens, or horticultural research? The David G. Leach Research Station team is seeking a summer intern to assist our Rhododendron breeding, collections, and conservation program. The Breeding and Curation Intern spends their summer gaining hands-on experience in nursery crop breeding projects, collection and field plot maintenance, collection curation, plant propagation, and nursery production. The Breeding and Curation intern will be exposed to a wide array of opportunities and duties at a botanical garden with an emphasis on but not exclusive to rhododendrons. In addition, all members of the Holden Forests & Gardens’ (HF&G) intern cohort will participate in professional development, such as workshops, scientific lectures, networking, and field trips. All interns will have the opportunity to develop and present independent projects at HF&G’s SEARCH symposium.
Holden Forests and Gardens offers over 3,600 acres of forested land, extensive living plant collections, and high-tech laboratories spread across three campuses. This position is based at the David G. Leach Research Station campus in Madison, OH, a 30-acre field station and garden with towering trees, choice landscape plants, and a world-class rhododendron collection. The intern will also have a short rotation in the rhododendron gardens at Holden Arboretum in Kirtland, OH, and will occasionally travel to Cleveland Botanical Garden in Cleveland, OH.
Position Details:
- Position begins mid-May, flexibility in start date with academic scheduling needs
- 12-week internship
- 40 hours per week
- Pay $14.00/hour
- Low-cost housing at Holden Arboretum may be available
- Open to undergraduates, recent college graduates, or others exploring a botanical career
Key Responsibilities:
- Assist with plant breeding projects, including pollinations, field plant evaluation and maintenance, planting of breeding populations, disease screens, and propagation
- Aid with plant collection maintenance and curation, including planting, horticultural plant care, curatorial reviews, and inventories
- Help with nursery production, including watering, transplanting, fertilization, pest and disease management, and pruning
- Work with supervisor to develop and complete an independent project which will be presented at the SEARCH symposium at the end of the internship
- Other relevant duties as assigned
Qualifications and Skills:
- Support Holden Forests & Gardens’ mission vision, and values
- Demonstrate a passion for people and nature
- Passion for connecting people with the wonder, beauty, and value of trees and plants to inspire action for healthy communities
- Pursuing or recently completed an undergraduate degree in a plant-related field, preferred
- Open to anyone exploring a botanical career
- Enthusiasm for temperate woody plants
- Interest in ornamental and conservation horticulture
- Strong communication, organizational skills, adaptability, and critical thinking skills
- Ability to work well in a diverse team
- Ability to work independently when needed
- Familiarity with Microsoft 365 products, specifically Teams, Outlook (email and calendar), Word, Excel, and PowerPoint or ability to learn
- Experience working with volunteers, a plus
- Valid driver's license an acceptable motor vehicle record, required
Physical Requirements
Must be able to perform with or without reasonable accommodation:
- Working outdoors in all weather conditions
- Safely operating small-engine machinery e.g., brush cutter or weed-whip (with appropriate training)
- Driving utility vehicles and small tractors
- Transporting oneself by foot over a variety of terrain that may be wet, slippery, uneven, rocky
- Performing repetitive physical tasks
- Standing, bending, kneeling, climbing, reaching, pulling, pushing, sitting, grabbing, and lifting up to 50 lbs.