Job descriptions

Garden Department

The Outdoor department is managed by Five sub teams; i) Alpine, Rock and, Woodland Garden, ii) Herbaceous, iii) Arboretum, iv) Nursery and, v) Turf. All teams carry out general care and maintenance of the living collection as well as working in their specialised areas. We can offer specialised internships within any of the sub teams or general internships to gain an overall experience of work at the Botanic Gardens.

You will work alongside our expert horticulturists and there will be scope for individual project work if you take the initiative. We aim to support and foster individuals’ interests as much as we can. Work in the Garden is seasonal. We hope that everyone who comes here gains a better understanding of work in the Garden.

Daily jobs will include: weeding, bed maintenance, planting, irrigation, pruning and record keeping.

Glasshouses

If you choose an internship with the Glasshouse department you will be involved with the maintenance of the different sections of tropical and tender plants, both on display and in the research collections. 

Over the course of your internship you will have the opportunity to get to know our plant collections in a wide range of climatic zones and the staff that look after them. From the very start you will be involved with the day to day management of one or two of the Glasshouses.

Daily jobs include: watering, preparation and tidying of the display for the public. Helping with further practical horticulture tasks like pruning, weeding and propagation are in large planned by time of year.

If you are interested in splitting your time to experience different areas of the garden please let us know and we can include this in your internship schedule once you arrive.

Hours of work

During your internship you will be line managed by a member of the Horticultural staff. Our working hours are 7.30am - 3:50pm Monday to Thursday and 7.30am - 2.30pm on Friday. Due to the nature of the work some departments it may only be able to support interns from 9.30 in the mornings.