2024 Summer Garden Internship

Bedford Audubon Society is seeking a rising college senior or graduate student to fill a 10-week paid internship position this summer. The ideal candidate is pursuing a degree in botany, horticulture, landscape architecture or design, or similar environmental fields. The Summer Garden Intern will work in the Bedford Audubon Habitat Garden, located at Bylane Farm in Katonah, New York. Bylane Farm is Bedford Audubon’s center of operations.

Bedford Audubon’s mission is to grow and nurture a community that values the conservation of birds and their habitats. It does so by providing high-quality environmental education programs, research, and birdwatching experiences. Established in 1913, Bedford Audubon is one of the oldest Audubon chapters in the country.

Objectives of the Internship
The 2024 Summer Garden Intern will play a central part in helping to fulfill Bedford Audubon’s mission of its newly renovated habitat garden as it opens to the public for the first time. The position is two-fold and will entail dividing time between live gardening tasks and the tasks of educational programming and communication about the habitat garden.

This work will provide broad benefits. The intern will have the opportunity to:

• Gain authentic and professional field experience to excite and propel a young environmentally minded student
• Learn critical technical field skills as well as soft skills for successful graduate school applications and competitive job applications
• Inspire, develop, and foster an inquisitive character and a life-long appreciation for the natural world through mentorship and experiential education

Core Responsibilities
The position offers varied responsibilities that require both collaborative and idenpendent work as described below.

Habitat Garden Tasks

• Assist with the installation of garden signage, trellises, and/or water feature, helping with entrance gate and walking path improvements.
• Maintain the garden through watering, weeding, identifying, and replacing non-thriving plants, and managing invasive growth.
• Replenish bird feeders.

Educational Programming and Communication Tasks

• Create procedures and content for a standardized walking tour of the garden based on five habitat education pillars of the garden and work with volunteers to lead the tours.
• Work on completing an array of smaller plant species signs with their accompanying website linkages and write-ups
• Help create publicity material and actively create posts for social media.
• Help create educational material or programs, e.g. native garden overview brochure, a user-friendly garden plan, focused garden lectures or workshops
• Subject to approval by the Executive Director, option to undertake an additional independent garden project, such as designing and installing a pocket garden on adjacent plant beds or undertaking a research project.
• Write/create a final internship report or presentation

Required Skills and Qualities:
The ideal candidate:

• Is a college senior or graduate student pursuing an academic degree botany, horticulture, landscape architecture or design, or similar environmental field.
• Is enthusiastic with a passion for horticulture or related environmental fields
• Possesses some native plant identification skills, and experience with horticultural practices
• Has excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Has some experience in nature interpretation, but most importantly, has a cheerful attitude and approach to working in a public setting.
• Is self-motivated and able to work both independently and in a supportive team atmosphere.
• Can work outside physically and willingly for extended periods and in a casual yet professional office environment.
• Holds a valid driver’s license and have personal transportation.

Details:

• 10-weeks from mid-May through mid-August (start & end dates are flexible*)
• $4,500 total stipend to be paid out bi-weekly
• Housing availalbe for $125.00 per week at Bylane Farm, our headquarters, in Katonah, NY.
  

*Start and end dates are flexible depending on academic and personal schedules. Please include any date restrictions in the cover letter.

To Apply:
Please email a cover letter, résumé, and two references to Bill Cavers, Executive Director by April 15, 2024 at executivedirector@bedfordaudubon.org. The cover letter should describe interests and personal goals for an internship with Bedford Audubon. Please also include any academic or personal date restrictions.