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Swarthmore College · 3 days ago

Public Horticulture Intern

Swarthmore, PA

Internship

Onsite

Intern

$20/hr - $23/hr

Start in 2026 Spring

Swarthmore College is a highly selective liberal arts college located in the suburbs of Philadelphia. The Scott Arboretum & Gardens Public Horticulture Internship offers a unique opportunity for individuals pursuing a career in public horticulture, providing hands-on experience in maintaining plant collections and supporting educational programming.

Higher Education

Comp. & Benefits

H1B Sponsor Likely

Responsibilities

Assists in maintaining the plant collections by performing timely planting, weeding, mulching, pruning, fertilizing, irrigating, leaf raking, and other plant cultural practices in order to maintain campus aesthetics and provide proper horticultural care

Assists in design modifications as needed to the Arboretum’s landscape and gardens

Assists in maintaining specialty garden areas consisting of Glade Garden, Harry Wood Garden, Nason Garden, Pinetum, Pollinators Garden, Singer Hall landscape, Winter Garden, magnolia and holly collections, green roofs, various courtyard gardens and major horticultural collections as the most intensively-maintained gardens on campus

Assists in maintaining a broad range of trees, shrubs, vines, herbaceous perennials, annuals, and turf grass

Cares for plants in the nursery and glasshouses

Assists with greenhouse and nursery operations by propagating, irrigating, fertilizing, and spraying plants as needed

Assists with special function set-up and tear-down in order to prepare the facilities in a timely manner for College- and Arboretum-hosted events

Writes Plant the week articles for the Scott Arboretum & Garden's blog, Garden Seeds

Develop and lead a video segment of Gardener's Almanac for Scott Arboretum & Garden's YouTube channel

Prepares weekly flower arrangements cue cards

Support educational programming for adult and youth audiences, including excursions, workshops, tours, and field trips

Assist with set up, take down, and activities during special events, such as the Rose Celebration and the Woody Plant Conference

Assist with the development and updating of interpretive materials

Safely and proficiently uses all hand gardening tools consisting of: pruners, shovels, rakes, loppers, hedge shears, and other gardening tools

With proper training becomes proficient at performing the daily maintenance of all grounds hand and power tools and equipment

With guidance, co-supervises student garden assistants

Qualification

HorticulturePlant identificationPruning techniquesIPM practicesPhysical strengthGreenhouse operationsWritten communicationTeamworkAdaptabilityReliability

Required

Strong interest in a career in public gardens, horticulture, and related fields

A demonstrated beginning knowledge of ornamental plants and turf including: plant identification, cultural requirements, care and maintenance, proper pruning techniques and IPM practices

Ability to frequently lift objects weighing up to 50 pounds and possess the physical strength to perform groundskeeping/gardening operations

Hand, arm, and back strength to shovel, prune, and rake for extended periods of time. Ability to manipulate vibrating, hand-held power machinery for extended times

Ability to perform kneeling, bending, squatting motions for extended times. Ability to work from a ladder doing pruning and other plant care. Visual ability to do detailed pruning

Ability to read and interpret pesticide labels, machinery safety manuals, and new information related to horticultural practices. Ability to maintain written maintenance records and keep a journal of daily work

Ability to work under adverse weather conditions and perform emergency storm-related damage services is required. Ability to work occasional scheduled weekends

Physical dexterity to perform the job and ability to work outside

High level of productivity; work pace is frequently fast-paced

Ability to work with diverse crew, faculty, staff, and volunteers

Preferred

Completed a degree in horticulture, green industry, or related field

Experience working in horticulture or green industry

Benefits

Travel and professional development support of $6,000 for conferences, travel, and programs based on proposal approvals.

The College contributes 10% of an employee’s salary to their retirement account.

Employees are 100% vested in their accounts on the date participation begins.

Tuition Grant Program

Tuition Reimbursement Program

Paid Time Off (Staff)

Holiday Schedule

Company

Swarthmore College

Swarthmore College is a private liberal arts college located in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania

Founded in 1864

Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, USA

501-1000 employees

http://www.swarthmore.edu/

H1B Sponsorship

Swarthmore College has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)

Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship

Represents job field similar to this job

Trends of Total Sponsorships

2025 (8)

2024 (6)

2023 (5)

2022 (12)

2021 (7)

2020 (9)