Internship Opportunities
At the UC Davis Arboretum, professional staff work closely with UC Davis undergraduate and graduate student interns in all areas of our botanical gardens operations. Some internships require participation in a training and orientation program; others may be developed more informally with the professional horticultural, curatorial, educational and other staff as time allows. The Arboretum staff works closely with academic units on campus (departments vary according to internship) to ensure that students have a faculty sponsor and receive units for their work at the UC Davis Arboretum.
For more general information, please call (530) 754-9126.
Internship Programs
Arboretum Gardening Interns will learn a variety of horticultural skills as they help maintain the Storer Garden, a demonstration garden of colorful and drought-tolerant plants. Working directly with the Horticultural Curator, Emily Griswold, interns will gain experience identifying and caring for a wide variety of plants. Training will include pruning, deadheading perennials, controlling weeds, monitoring garden pests and diseases, and basic garden management. Each intern will also be responsible for an independent project evaluating the performance of new plant introductions in the Storer Garden.
Schedule,: Arboretum Gardening Interns commit to 3-9 hours/week. Each garden shift is approximately three hours.
Units: 1-3 units
Contact Information: Emily Griswold, Horticultural Curator, ebgriswold@ucdavis.edu
Arboretum Plant Propagation and Nursery Interns will work with professional Arboretum nursery and plant sales staff to gain real hands-on experience working in a nursery. Interns will learn our methods for propagating a great variety of plants, many of which are unusual in cultivation. Interns are encouraged to choose the plants they work with and will gain experience in a range of nursery tasks, including irrigation, pruning, repotting, and IPM /pest control.
Schedule: Arboretum Nursery Interns commit to 3-9 hours/week. Each shift is approximately three hours.
Units: 1-3 units
Contact Information: Beth Gale, Nursery Manager, 530-754-8337, bhgale@ucdavis.edu
Arboretum Naturalist Interns will lead elementary aged children on school field trips throughout the Arboretum. Interns learn about the local environment, Native American uses of plants, and California Native Plants. Interns receive extensive training in outdoor education techniques and strategies, creative teaching approaches for children, and work with a team of other interns and community volunteers.
Schedule: Arboretum Naturalist Interns commit to 1 tour/week during Fall and Spring Quarters. Tours take place on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, 9:00-12:00. Training for each season takes place in September and January of each year.
Units: 1-3 units per quarter in Education 92/192 or Nature and Culture 92/192. One tour per week = 1 unit, two tours per week = 2 units. For training, all interns receive 1 unit.
Contact Information: Outdoor Education Coordinator, 530-754-5686
Arboretum Ambassador Interns gain skills in informal education techniques, event support, public outreach, volunteer coordination, and museum and non-profit management and leadership. Interns will work closely with Arboretum career and student staff to support existing programs and initiatives in our Family Nature Program, Docent Public Tours Program, Science Cafés, Arts in Nature Program, Plant Sales, Fundraising Events and Community Gardening volunteer days. Ambassadors also have an opportunity to engage K-12 students and the wider community in themed events that they create with other environmental clubs and partners on campus.
Schedule: Ambassador Interns commit to 9 months of service beginning the Fall Quarter of each school year and lasting through the following spring quarter. There are weekly meetings as well as 3-4 events per quarter either during the evenings or weekends.
Units: 1-3 units per quarter in Education 92/192.
Contact Information: Betsy Faber, Education Outreach Manager, UC Davis Arboretum, 754-8197, eifaber@ucdavis.edu.
Benefits of Internships at the UC Davis Arboretum
Being an intern at the Arboretum has many benefits! In addition to your initial training, you have the opportunity to attend continuing education classes, lectures, and field trips and to develop friendships with others who share similar interests. Many of our professional staff began their careers with internships at the Arboretum and, as former interns, we are keenly aware of the productive, collaborative, and creative work that results from training and working with interns as true partners. Unlike many university internship programs, we take your training and helping you develop your career seriously. Many of our interns have gone on to satisfying and productive professional work in public garden management, nursery management, natural areas management, horticulture, park management, and other related work in California and throughout the United States.
Additional benefits include:
- Learning about central valley gardening, drought-tolerant landscaping, California native plants, and best practices in horticulture, plant propagation, landscaping, and education.
- Developing working relationships with Arboretum staff and have access to staff expertise.
- Access to the Arboretum library with its extensive collection of gardening and horticultural references.
- If appropriate, Arboretum staff will write letters of reference for school admission, employment, or community service verification.