This position will provide technical, yet easy to understand, information about plants and seeds – from pollination to germination – with the visiting public and beyond.
Please email a resume and cover letter to Suzzanne Chapman (schapman@hcp4.net) by March 28, 2016.
- Intern will assist staff botanists with Mercer plant conservation programs; assist horticulturists with various propagation techniques; develop interpretive guides with the education director; communicate professionally with Mercer Botanic Gardens staff, The Mercer Society, volunteers, and the visiting public at Mercer Botanic Gardens
- Collect seeds from rare and endangered plant species onsite and at offsite preserves; collect seeds from desirable landscape specimens onsite
- Participate in best propagation practices based on research of various species; soil and water testing; pest/disease identification and possible treatments; seed scarification and stratification; recognizing proper times to collect seeds; identifying ways to protect and store seeds
- Access the onsite botanical library, online resources, and personal experiences of others to research local seed propagation
- Optimize volunteer seed collection for memorial seed distributions
- Develop educational reports, images, and posters to support Seeds to Seedlings educational programs, including information for children and family tours
- Participate in the Mercer Botanic Gardens Student Research Symposium
- Must be available: May 30, 2016 through July 22, 2016; 40 hours per week, worked primarily Monday – Friday; 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. with a 30 minute lunch. Some weekends may be required.
- This is a paid internship, with funding provided by the ExxonMobil Community Summer Jobs Program. The stipend for the eight-week, full-time internship period is $2,750 (subject to FICA and income tax withholding).
- Applicants must be currently enrolled, full-time, undergraduate students who will be returning to college as full-time sophomores, juniors, or seniors in the fall of 2016. Full?time enrollment is defined as 12 or more credits in one semester. When applying for the internship, the student must provide The Mercer Society with written enrollment verification from the college confirming the student’s enrollment status. Student ID cards and/or phone calls are not sufficient documentation. Official enrollment verification must come from a university’s registrar office.
- Ability to lift up to 40 lbs., and work outdoors in heat, humidity, rain, cold and dust.
- A background check and drug screening will be administered by Harris County Precinct 4 prior to hiring.
- Family members of The Mercer Society staff and/or board and family members of Mercer Botanic Gardens staff are not eligible to be hired as ExxonMobil CSJP interns.
