Work-Study

Provide support for our living collections by contributing to plant records projects and following collections management practices. Specific tasks will be assigned based on the program’s needs, time of year, and the student’s strengths and interests.

Primary duties include, but are not limited to:

• Assist in preparing public-facing plant display labels and accession tags for the Arboretum’s plant collections
• Assist in cleaning, maintaining, and repairing plant labels and interpretive signage
• Assist in collaborative plant records database management via research of plant taxa attributes and related information
• Assist in the content creation process as related to plants in order to support the Arboretum’s website and social media platforms
• Assist with plant image cataloging tasks and related projects
• Assist with inventories and the organization of curatorial materials
• Other curatorial support as needed

Provide support to an environmental education program serving children and their families. Specific tasks will be assigned based on the program’s needs and the students’ strengths and interests.

Primary duties include, but are not limited to:

• Interact with children and families as they visit the Childhood’s Gate Children’s Garden (June through August)
• Provide educational program support during seasonal events, registration-based programs, and field trips
• Develop print or virtual educational materials for use in the garden
• Research and develop programmatic practices or curriculum plans

Provide support to the Arboretum’s staff, visitor services, and general operations, serving the needs of the program and the community as needed. Specific tasks will be assigned based on the program’s needs and the student’s strengths and interests.

Primary duties include, but are not limited to:

• Restocking visitor brochures, maps, and printed materials at the welcome center, kiosks, and garden entry points, and tracking stock levels for reorder
• Distributing promotional materials across campus and in the community, particularly ahead of major events (e.g., Pumpkin Fest, Winter’s Glow)
• Supporting avian and pollinator programming, including weekly bird feeder maintenance and cleaning, seed inventory, monarch waystation and pollinator habitat checks, and citizen science observation logging (e.g., Project FeederWatch, Great Backyard Bird Count)
• Conducting routine site walk-throughs and reporting conditions — hardscape surfaces, outdoor furniture, wayfinding, litter, and debris — to the Director of Horticulture and Operations
• Assisting staff with visitor services during peak periods and public programs, including greeting visitors, answering general wayfinding questions, and recording visitor counts
• Providing event logistics support before, during, and after programs, including supply staging, directional signage placement and retrieval, volunteer check-in, and site reset
• Supporting volunteer programs through materials preparation, sign-in coordination, and hours tracking
• Completing indoor administrative projects during inclement weather, including brochure and packet assembly, mailing preparation, supply inventories, and event and attendance data entry
• Other general arboretum and visitor support as needed