Morton Arboretum Interns, Photo Courtesy of The Morton Arboretum
ALEXANDRIA, VA – Internships have long been a common component of
horticulture degree-granting programs and related disciplines,
often offering college credit for working during the summer
break. These can be effective partnerships that benefit
employers as well as students, who are able to gain
experience and benefit from being trained by highly skilled
professionals.
Through the integration of structured educational experiences
with on-the-job learning, internships are valuable tools to
expose early career professionals to a field of employment,
specific job types, and functions. In addition to providing
practical experience and professional networking
opportunities, an internship also allows one to start clarifying
career goals, sculpt a vision of their future professional life,
and take the first steps toward its realization. An internship
program is also beneficial to the employer as a positive
experience can result in an advocate for organization and
perhaps even a future skilled worker seeking employment.
The Morton Arboretum is a public garden renowned for its
diverse tree collections, research activities, and educational
programing. Since the early 2000s, The Morton Arboretum has
offered a public horticulture internship with the purpose of
introducing early career professionals to the multitude of
career options available at public gardens. The interns rotate
through a variety of departments and also complete a short,
independent project. The arboretum’s curator serves as the
internship coordinator and is responsible for the selection,
onboarding, and general supervision of the interns. With some
exceptions, two interns are selected each year and are
generally rising seniors or recent graduates of BS degree
programs in horticulture, biology, environmental sciences, or
similar disciplines.
At the conclusion of the internship, interns complete a short
evaluation of the program and are generally quite satisfied.
However, though this method of evaluation can certainly
reveal short-term program satisfaction, it does little to reveal
how effective the program was in shaping career goals,
providing access to a professional network, or guiding job
placement.
An evaluation of The Morton Arboretum’s Public Horticulture
Internship Program was recently conducted to learn the long-term impacts of the program. The results portrayed a well-received program that was generally effective in its goals.
Forty-six percent of respondents were currently working in
public gardens, including several in high-level administrative
and leadership positions.
Surveys and interviews of former interns who completed the
program between 2003 and 2019 were conducted with the
goals of informing future program development and
understanding the opportunities and challenges former
interns have experienced while seeking careers in public
horticulture.
Public gardens are one potential source for horticulture
internship opportunities. Though public garden internships
are often only loosely characterized or defined, intern
responsibilities generally differ from other staff to include
participation in workshops, field trips, and staff meetings;
ability to rotate around specific garden areas to learn a variety
of tasks; assignment of an independent project; and/or
significant involvement in direct teaching/training activities
comprising up to 50% of their time. Though some college
advisors consider public garden internships beneficial and
capable of providing a broad range of hands-on experiences,
few college advisors have established relationships with
public gardens, and thus are not presumed to recommend
public garden internships to a significant extent. Furthermore,
some advisors are aware of internship programs at public
gardens, but are reluctant to encourage them, viewing them
as less rigorous than those in the commercial sector.
Survey and interview results reveal the program is well
received by former interns, exposed them to a new facet of
horticulture and potential field of employment, helped shape
their career goals, and provided mentorship and professional
networking to assist in further success.
According to Matthew Lobdell, Head of Collections and Curator at The Morton Arboretum,
“Internships are of critical importance to career development. For nearly 20 years, The
Morton Arboretum has exposed Public Horticulture Interns to the diverse career options
available at public gardens through an immersive 13-week program. Former interns working
in the sector cite this experience as essential to clarifying their career goals. Those who
chose other career paths still credit the program for generating a lifelong interest and
advocacy in public gardens.”
The complete article is available on the ASHS HortTechnology
electronic journal web site:https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTTECH04901-21
Established in 1903, the American Society for Horticultural Science is recognized around the
world as one of the most respected and influential professional societies for horticultural
scientists. ASHS is committed to promoting and encouraging national and international
interest in scientific research and education in all branches of horticulture.
Comprised of thousands of members worldwide, ASHS represents a broad cross-section of
the horticultural community – scientists, educators, students, landscape and turf managers,
government, extension agents and industry professionals. ASHS members focus on
practices and problems in horticulture: breeding, propagation, production and
management, harvesting, handling and storage, processing, marketing and use of
horticultural plants and products. To learn more, visit ashs.org.
