2013 Reiman Gardens' Internship Program
The mission of the Reiman Gardens’ Internship Program is to promote the professional and intellectual development of students through a multi-disciplinary educational approach and hands-on work experience.
Reiman Gardens’ interns are partnered with a full-time professional staff member to explore day to day duties and experiences in an innovative public garden setting. Each intern works in their specialized area four and a half days a week with one half day a week reserved for educational workshops, demonstrations, and field trips for a total of 40 hours per week, including some weekend and evening hours. All interns are required to complete various internship components through the guidance of their supervisor and develop a talk on their internship experience. Presentations will be given in a public session at a “Brown Bag Lecture.” In addition, the interns will work as a team to complete a project to help the Gardens.
Applications for the 2013 internships are now being accepted in the following areas:
Garden & Landscape Maintenance
Glasshouse Display & Greenhouse Production
Turfgrass & Irrigation Maintenance
Plant Collections & Records
Education
Entomology
Communications
Retail Management
The internship program begins on May 13, 2013 and is finalized on August 9, 2013.
Any undergraduate student with an interest in public gardens or non-profit organizations is encouraged to apply.
Application materials are due Friday, February 15, 2013.
Interviews will be conducted in February and March with final decisions made by March 22, 2013.
More information about each internship opportunity is listed below.
To apply, please download and submit an application available here.
For further information please contact:
Aaron Steil
Education Coordinator
Reiman Gardens – Iowa State University
1407 University Blvd, Ames, IA 50011
Phone: 515-294-8953
Email: ajsteil@iastate.edu
INTERNSHIP DESCRIPTIONS
Garden & Landscape Maintenance
The Garden and Landscape Maintenance intern will maintain the permanent plant collections and the outdoor rotating floral display gardens. The development of horticulture skills in planting, weeding, watering, mulching, edging, pruning, mowing, fertilizing, and maintaining outdoor displays and water features in several different themed garden areas is emphasized. The intern will work with the rose collection, woody plants, Iowa native plants, water plants, perennials, annuals, turf grass, fruits, and vegetables. Compensation is $8.50/hour.
*Possible hours available before and after internship.
The Garden & Landscape Maintenance intern must
1. be currently enrolled at a college or university working towards an undergraduate degree at the time of application.
2. have a strong interest in the care and maintenance of plants and landscapes and public gardens.
3. be able to work in all outdoor conditions.
4. be able to lift 50 pounds.
5. have an ability to work occasional weekend and evening hours.
6. have a valid driver’s license.
Glasshouse Display & Greenhouse Production
The Glasshouse Display and Greenhouse Production intern will work in the Conservatory, Butterfly Wing, and greenhouses. The intern will assist with the implementation of the rotating indoor displays, the maintenance of permanent plant material, and the usage of biological control. The development of horticulture skills in planting, watering, mulching, pruning, fertilizing, propagating by seed and vegetative means, transplanting, repotting, staking and grooming of plant material, and maintaining indoor displays and water features is emphasized. Compensation is $8.50/hour.
*Possible hours available before and after internship.
The Glasshouse Display & Greenhouse Production intern must
1. be currently enrolled at a college or university working towards an undergraduate degree at the time of application.
2. have a strong interest in the care and maintenance of plants in conservatories and greenhouses and public gardens.
3. be able to work in all outdoor and greenhouse conditions.
4. be able to lift 50 pounds.
5. have an ability to work occasional weekend and evening hours.
6. have a valid driver’s license.
Turfgrass & Irrigation Maintenance
The Turfgrass and Irrigation Maintenance intern will maintain the nearly seven acres of turf areas at the Gardens. The development of horticulture skills in seeding, chemical application, mowing, and trimming turf with a variety of specialized turf equipment is emphasized. The intern will work with both cool and warm season turf and work to maintain and update the Gardens extensive irrigation system. Compensation is $8.50/hour.
*Possible hours available before and after internship.
The Turfgrass & Irrigation Maintenance intern must
1. be currently enrolled at a college or university working towards an undergraduate degree at the time of application.
2. have a strong interest in the care and maintenance of turfgrass and irrigation systems.
3. be able to work in all outdoor conditions.
4. be able to lift 50 pounds.
5. have an ability to work occasional weekend and evening hours.
6. have a valid driver’s license.
Plant Collections & Records
The Plant Collections intern will assist with maintaining the plant collection records at Reiman Gardens. Responsibilities include inputting data into the plant database, accessioning incoming and existing plant materials, researching plant nomenclature and characteristics, creating accurate display labels for plant material, creating as-built maps of installed plant materials, photographing certain plant collections, and creating and attaching accession tags to the plant collection. The intern will work with several computer software programs like AutoCAD. Compensation is $8/hour.
The Plant Collections & Records intern must
1. be currently enrolled at a college or university working towards an undergraduate degree at the time of application.
2. have a strong interest in plants, botanical nomenclature, and public gardens.
3. be comfortable working with computers and learning new computer programs and hardware.
4. be able to work in all outdoor conditions.
5. be able to lift 50 pounds.
6. have an ability to work occasional weekend and evening hours.
7. have a valid driver’s license.
Education
The Education intern will assist with the creation and implementation of interpretative signage, tours, and educational displays. This intern will also develop and lead youth summer programming including Kids’ Story Time and Summer Day Camps. Compensation is $8/hour.
*Hours available before and after internship giving youth tours, if interested.
The Education intern must
1. be currently enrolled at a college or university working towards an undergraduate degree at the time of application.
2. have an interest in working with plants and insects (butterflies), teaching (particularly in non-formal educational settings), and public gardens.
3. have an interest in teaching all age groups, particularly pre-K to 2nd grade.
4. be able to work in outdoor conditions.
5. have an ability to work occasional weekend and evening hours.
6. have a valid driver’s license.
Entomology
The Entomology intern will assist the Butterfly Wing Curator in the development and maintenance of butterfly cultures for release in the Butterfly Wing. Such work will involve maintenance of a variety of lepidopteron colonies, processing and handling tropical chrysalis shipments, as well as preparation of artificial diets. This internship provides the opportunity to work directly with all life stages throughout the rearing process with tropical and native butterfly species. The intern will be working in a USDA regulated lab and must be comfortable working with live insects. The intern will also volunteer as a Butterfly Wing docent, giving information to Gardens’ visitors. Compensation is $8/hour.
*Possible hours available before and after internship.
The Entomology intern must
1. be currently enrolled at a college or university working towards an undergraduate degree at the time of application.
2. be comfortable talking to and teaching people of all ages.
3. be comfortable handling a variety of insects and other invertebrates.
4. be able to work in all outdoor conditions.
5. be able to lift 50 pounds.
6. have an ability to work regular weekend and evening hours.
7. have a valid driver’s license.
Graphic Design/Communications Intern
The Graphic Design/Communications Intern will work closely with the Communications Coordinator to assist in several areas of the Gardens including graphic design like advertisements, signage, brochures, printed materials, electronic newsletters and invites, and event materials. Other duties include written communications like press releases, maintaining the Reiman Gardens’ website, and taking photography of the Gardens. Compensation is $8/hour.
*Possible hours available after internship.
The Graphic Design/Communications intern must
1. be currently enrolled at a college or university working towards an undergraduate degree at the time of application.
2. know or quickly be able to learn the Adobe Creative Suite.
3. have excellent writing and design skills.
4. have a knowledge of photography.
5. have an ability to work occasional weekend and evening hours.
6. have a valid driver’s license.
Retail Management
The Retail Management intern will assist the Gift Shop Manager in planning and buying merchandise, meeting with wholesale representatives, and will attend an out of town Gift Market. The intern will also plan the window displays and coordinate them with Gardens’ events. Other responsibilities will include opening and closing of the store, sales, customer service and data entry. As part of Reiman Gardens, the intern will also have the opportunity to work with the Gardens’ marketing staff to get a broad retail experience. Compensation is $8/hour.
*Possible hours available before and after internship.
The Retail Management intern must
1. be currently enrolled at a college or university working towards an undergraduate degree at the time of application.
2. have a strong interest in retail management.
3. interact easily, positively, and effectively with the public.
4. have an interest in working in public gardens or other non-profit organizations.
5. have an ability to work regular weekend and evening hours.
6. be able to lift 50 pounds.
7. have a valid driver’s license.
