Internship Openings
Our internship positions are currently filled. Learn more about each Learning by Leading program and how to find out about future opportunities below
Learning by Leading™
We believe that students learn best by leading.
Leadership skills and real-world experience combine to help our students address the earth’s most important environmental issues. The Learning by Leading™ internship program offers quarter-long and school year-long internships in which students gain leadership experience addressing a variety of environmental sustainability, restoration and literacy issues by working in teams to solve real-world problems in the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden. Internships correspond with the UC Davis academic schedule and are offered fall, winter and spring quarters. Summer internships are offered on an individual basis, in coordination with staff mentors.
Students in this program can graduate with . . .
- Central Valley gardening, drought-tolerant landscaping, habitat restoration and California native plant cultivation experience.
- Knowledge of horticultural best practices, plant propagation, landscaping, education, and community outreach experience.
- Highly transferable leadership, team-building, and 21st century professional skills.
- Strong mentor relationships with staff experts and earn recommendations to support future endeavors.
- Knowledge organizing events that engage volunteers, visitors and other community members.
- A new network of students engaged in improving our campus outdoor spaces and positively impacting our planet’s environment.
Internship Overviews
Arboretum Ambassadors
This program seeks to empower youth leaders to become effective advocates for the environment through public outreach, environmental and conservation education, and networking through many organizations.
CCUH SmartLandscape
In this program, students will be encouraged and mentored to approach landscape ecology from both humanistic and biological contexts with consideration for aesthetics, function, and ecological needs of the landscape and its wildlife. (This internship is a collaboration with the California Center for Urban Horticulture (CCUH).)
Ecological Land Management
Interns will gain experience in the management, stewardship, and restoration of natural lands on the UC Davis Putah Creek Riparian Reserve and other campus natural areas.
Habitat Horticulture
Habitat Horticulture interns will learn about species interactions and the ecological benefits of gardens in urban environments and be trained to actively engage with the community when they are on site.
Plant Propagation and Nursery Management
Work with professional Arboretum nursery and plant sales staff to gain hands-on experience working in a nursery. Interns will learn methods for propagating a great variety of plants, many of which are unusual in cultivation.
Sustainable Horticulture
Hands-on training includes irrigation design and installation, planting design, plant selection and installation, and long-term maintenance. Students will also be responsible for leading an independent project.
Urban Tree Stewardship
Interns will learn to understand climate adaptation in urban forestry and gain opportunities to explore and improve the surrounding tree canopy, while working with a virtual team and campus partners to support research, public education and campus planning.
Waterway Stewardship
Interns will become familiar with land and water management concepts of sustainable environmental design, storm water management, and native habitat restoration in an urban setting.