Internships

Summer interns on field trip

Botanic Gardens summer internships

2024 Wellesley College Botanic Gardens Summer Internship

Learn more and apply on Workday!  Summer 2024 - Internship Description 
Applications open Feb 1, 2024, and close on March 1, 2024 at 5pm ET!

Wellesley College Botanic Gardens is offering an 8-week, paid full-time summer internship on campus, for students interested in a hands-on deep dive into skills and projects that build horticultural and botanical knowledge, and enhance their connection to nature and sense of place at Wellesley.  Make a positive impact in our campus botanic gardens, and deepen skills in plant and insect identification, horticulture, garden design and maintenance, and plant and landscape care.

 

 

2024 Summer Research Internship
Apply through the Science Center summer program (select Prof. Kristina Jones' project).
Applications open Jan. 22, 2024- closed Friday, Feb. 16, at 11pm EST

Wellesley College Botanic Gardens is participating in the Science Center Summer Research program, seeking 1 research intern for a full-time, 8.5-week paid opportunity to support arboretum research and inventory in the botanic gardens. Interest in building plant identification skills and GIS skills are preferred.
 
Project Title: Botanic Gardens: Flora of the Future
Project Description: At the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens, we are investigating who lives where in the 22 acres of outdoor gardens as we plan for the future of these diverse educational landscapes.  The gardens are experiencing increasing flooding and drought, and one area of focus is climate resilience of diverse plants, from native grasses to trees from across the globe. The project will include developing skills in plant identification to inventory garden areas, then learn and use ArcGIS and other tools to map, visualize, and understand climate resilience and plant health in our campus flora. This project will include a substantial data collection component in the outdoor gardens in hot weather conditions, as well as computational work.  Student will work primarily with Botanical Collections Manager Julianna Razryadov and GIS and Data Instructional Technologist Tracy Tien, with Associate Director Jenn Yang and Director Kristina Jones also part of the team
 

 

 Other student internships & fellowships

 

Dorothy Thorndike Botanic Gardens FellowshipEETG garden tour

Dorothy Thorndike Fellows work to connect people to plants, nature, and the environment, using the botanical resources of the Margaret C. Ferguson Greenhouses, Alexandra Botanic Garden, and Hunnewell Arboretum of Wellesley College. This internship was established in fond memory of Dorothy Dudley Thorndike DS ’75, to further the impact of her passion for plants and nature on students and visitors to the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens.
Note: Currently, this fellowship supports paid Botanic Gardens student assistant positions to develop and implement inclusive community programs. There is no separate application; students are selected who demonstrate notable leadership and commit to relevant projects.

 

Morris Fellowship

The Suzanne Kibler Morris ’44 Fund provides the Morris Fellowship, an opportunity for students to deepen their understanding and passion for plants and the natural world through creative projects, specifically in the Global Flora conservatory.  Projects can be individual or collaborative. Funding will be provided to cover materials, access to equipment or other project needs, and a stipend. A goal of this fund is to support projects that can be displayed, exhibited in Global Flora, or otherwise shared to inspire current and future students.  This is a full-year fellowship. We encourage students with art/design, humanities, social sciences, and natural science backgrounds to share creative proposals.  Please contact Kristina Jones (kjones) for details.

 

Campus internships

Here are some other ways to fund your botanical education and related opportunities!  Chat with us anytime, as many Botanic Gardens students have taken advantage of these opportunities and have shared their experiences. :)

  • Related campus internships:
  • The Science Center Summer Research Program: a great chance to try out scientific research, including with plants and our own botanical faculty!
  • The Paulson Ecology of Place Summer Internship: off-campus internship - an amazing way pursue projects that connect you with outdoor landscapes!
  • Check out the full list of Wellesley funded summer internships at the Wellesley Career Education site!
  • If students find any unpaid opportunities, they can apply to get funded through Wellesley's Career Education Grants Program (application open Feb1-March1). Eligibility is primarily for sophomores and juniors, and students DO NOT need to have the internship secured before they apply. 
  • Check out Career Ed's Signature Internships program for internship sites that may be relevant to your interests (e.g., Botanical intern at the Global Citizenship site of Fondation Jardin Majorelle and Musee Yves Saint Laurent in Morocco; Education Intern in the Lumpkin site of CitySprouts in Boston - the application deadline for these opportunities closes on November 1); the summer Signature Internship at the Mass Audubon's Boston Nature Center in our Lumpkin program will be opening applications again during the spring cycle (Feb. 1 - March 1). If interested, go to the Signature Internships webpage for application details and how to apply in Workday. 
  • Another Signature Internship application that is typically open in spring is an Agricultural and Operations intern with Asia Rural Institute (in the Global Citizenship area

External internships

  • APGA jobs and internships database - American Public Gardens Association (APGA) lists many botanical internships/jobs, locally and beyond . Filter by "internships" and location of choice. Some examples include:
  • New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) School of Professional Horticulture - opportunities
  • Heritage Museums & Gardens - Horticulture internship on the Cape (scroll down on this page)
  • New England Botanic Gardens at Tower Hill - Open Internships are listed here
  • Ecological Horticulture Summer internship at Norcross Wildlife Foundation in Norcross, MA - apply early for first consideration! - applications due March 1
  • Summer horticultural internship at Berkshire Botanic Gardens and The Trustees Naumkeag summer internship in MA - send applications to Eric Ruquist, Director of Horticulture at eruquist@berkshirebotanical.org - applications due March 1
  • NPS - Acadia National Park / Schoodic Institute - Forestry Monitoring Technician (3 openings) - applications due Feb 20
  • Oak Spring Garden Foundation - multiple internship types - application review begins Feb 3 until filled
  • Hunnewell summer internship at Arnold Arboretum - applications due Feb 1
  • Native Plant Trust summer internship in Framingham, MA - applications due Feb 1
  • Chanticleer Internship - applications typically due in January. A paid 6–9-month opportunity for select individuals to intensively deepen their understanding of the art of horticulture. Chanticleer is a plant- driven, highly aesthetic 50-acre public garden with the unofficial motto, “beauty without bureaucracy”. Chanticleer is a small, lean organization that institutes high standards across the organization. Interns work alongside the Horticulture staff and will advance their skills as well as contribute to the garden overall. Interns are treated as part of the garden staff.  Housing is available onsite at no cost to the interns. Learn more about the program and find details to apply here: https://chanticleergarden.org/programs.html. If you have questions, please contact Chanticleer’s Public Programs Manager Erin Dougherty at edougherty@chanticleergarden.org
  • Jardin Majorelle internship - Yves Saint Laurent Foundation in Marrakech, Morocco
  • ATTRA is an online directory of sustainable agriculture internships and jobs

  

We are happy to provide additional information about both internal and external internships, as many of our students and staff have experience with them. Contact us at wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu for more information.