At The Garden — Employment

Aquatic Plant Maintenance Seasonal Position

Requistion Number 29

The Garden's 385-acre campus includes 81 acres of water, including 60 acres of lakes. Over the past decade, more than 300,000 aquatic and shoreline plants have been introduced along three miles of our lakeshore. These shoreline plantings (representing 125 native plant species) have been extremely effective in stabilizing eroding shoreline soils and enhancing aquatic habitat, and they now serve as a research site for scientific study. By August 2012, more than120,000 additional shoreline plants will have been installed as part of our North Lake Shoreline Restoration Project (visit www.chicagobotanic.org/research/shoreline/north_lake.php for more information.)

The aquatic plant maintenance seasonal staff will work closely with the Garden's Director of Restoration Ecology and the Aquatic Plant Specialist to maintain these shoreline plantings. Typical work responsibilities for this position include removal of weedy/invasive plants and algae, replanting due to plant mortality or herbivory, plant community documentation, and other maintenance activities to support robust plant communities and aesthetic shoreline conditions. Staff in this position are provided with an exceptional opportunity to learn native wetland plant identification and to gain a better understanding of lake shoreline erosion control strategies and shoreline ecology.

Candidates for this position should have coursework and/or work experience in botany, environmental studies, horticulture, or closely related fields. Candidates must have a high comfort level being in and around water, and an ability to swim should the need arise in an emergency. Employees will be expected to operate rowboats and trolling motors, and they must have an ability to lift and carry 35 pounds.

The 2012 employment term for these positions begins in May and continues through at least August, with several workers’ schedules expected to extend until mid-December. Work hours are Monday through Friday, 6:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.; infrequently, some overtime effort (at time-and-a-half pay) may be requested.