Internship Program
The Chicago Botanic Garden is 385 acres of natural beauty with 23 gardens and native habitat areas. The second most visited public garden in the United States, it has more than 1.9 million plants of 8,800 taxa, the largest collection in the Upper Midwest. The Garden, which is a recognized center of education, research and conservation, has a respected internship program.
Interns gain hands-on experience in the areas of education, horticulture or research, and in addition, as part of their training are required to attend educational programming to broaden their general exposure to public horticulture and research. The educational component consists of lectures, field trips and workshops offered through the School of the Chicago Botanic Garden.
Most interns work between 37.5 and 40 hours per week at $8.16 per hour. Housing is not provided. Assistance, however, in finding local accommodations is given. Interns are ultimately responsible for finding housing. International students are accepted.
2005 Internship Positions
Chicago Botanic Garden
Note: additional postings for 2005 internships will be available soon. Please check back for updates.
Community GardeningNeighborhood Gardens & Green Youth Farm
As a community gardening intern, you will assist with the Green Youth Farm project, helping teens learn valuable skills in farming and marketing while they work their farm. We will have two locations, a one-acre farm in Waukegan/North Chicago, and a 1/4-acre farm in the North Lawndale community. You will also assist with the Neighborhood Gardens program, transforming a vacant lot or grass-filled schoolyard into a beautiful garden filled with color and vitality. To learn more about this exciting internship opportunity, click here.
Conservation and Land Management (in partnership with the
Bureau of Land Management)
Are you interested in acquiring a unique set of skills in at least one of the following areas: GIS, wetland ecology, forestry, archeology, recreation, botany, wildlife, range management, conservation, technical writing, ornithology, policy and entomology? Click here to learn more.
Horticulture
Are you looking for practical hands-on experience in horticulture? Does the idea of maintaining some of our 23 specialty gardens and braving the elements appeal to you? Would you like to improve your propagation skills? Is working in greenhouses to release beneficial insects or create topiaries your idea of an enjoyable internship? Gain experience and knowledge related to greenhouse and nursery operations, including plant propagation, through hands-on growing experience with the broad range of plants grown at a botanic garden production facility. To view detailed position descriptions, click here.
Institute for Conservation Science, Millennium Seed Bank Project
Do you enjoy field work? Are you detail oriented? Are you interested in being part of a global plant conservation initiative? Do you work well by yourself as well as with a group of volunteers? If you are interested in learning more about this internship position, click here.
Institute for Plant Conservation, Regional Floristics and Rare Plant Monitoring
Do you have a passion for finding and monitoring rare plants? Would you like to work with volunteers? Are you interested in maps and GIS programs? Do you enjoy analysis of field data? Are you committed to conservation of native plants? Are you able to work well by yourself and with a group? If you answer yes to any four of these questions, you should view the detailed position description.
Plant Biology and Conservation (in partnership with
Northwestern University)
Would you like to gain hands-on experience and training in a wide variety of field studies, including plant demography, quantitative genetics, molecular ecology, plant breeding, invasive plant dynamics, paleoethnobotany, soil ecology and remote sensing? If so, click here for more details.
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