EDUCATOR

GARDEN OVERVIEW

MISSION

Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden’s mission is connecting people to plants by inspiring communities to explore and conserve nature.

VISION

We are a Virginia garden of international significance leading in horticultural and educational excellence. We cultivate experiences that enhance each person’s relationship with the natural world.

VALUES

Responsibility, Innovation, Integrity, Hospitality and Inspiration

Founded in 1984, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden is a nonprofit garden located in Richmond, Virginia’s Lakeside neighborhood. The Garden encompasses 82 acres, four lakes, 5,500 unique taxa of plants within 15 distinct outdoor gardens, 11 major buildings including a conservatory and greenhouse, plus an 80-acre branch site, the Lewis Ginter Nature Reserve. Annually, Lewis Ginter engages over 17,000 students in innovative and exciting educational programs. This cadre of identified learners is just a fraction of the more than 400,000 annual visitors to the Garden. In recent years, the Garden has been honored with inclusion in several top ten lists for botanical gardens in North America.

Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, or national origin in the hiring, retention, or promotion of employees. We support the diversity and inclusion policy adopted by The American Public Gardens Association: to create an equitable, diverse and inclusive culture where the contributions of all community members are valued, respected, and appreciated.

Job Description

Part-Time Educators are a vital part of the Youth and Family Engagement (YFE) team. Educators facilitate outdoor educational programming for Pre-K to 12th grade students, lead drop-in programming for families, and provide support in horticultural tasks within the Children’s Garden.

The typical work schedule for this position is 8:00am – 1:00pm Monday – Friday.

Responsibilities

• Facilitates nature-based learning programming for Pre-K to 12th grade school groups, families, and summer camps.
• Responsible for daily operations of the Children’s Garden on weekdays, including opening, set-up, and clean-up for the Children’s Garden, the Waterway and program areas.
• Maintains physical spaces within the Children’s Garden:
  • Ensures tidiness of activity spaces.
  • Performs basic horticultural tasks (watering, weeding, planting, harvesting).
  • Participates in staff workdays to support larger projects.
  
  
• Assists YFE staff with additional programming, which may include:
  • Leading summer camp.
  • Support for school group arrivals.
  • Occasional teaching/support of offsite programs at partner organizations in the community.
  
  
• Assists with the Garden’s yearly GardenFest of Lights holiday light show.
  • Occasional evening shifts required.
  
  
• Completes other duties as assigned, including:

• Actively participates in staff training and department meetings.
• Completes American Red Cross First Aid and CPR training.


• Ensures that guests’ fundamental needs for safety, security and comfort are met at all times in the Garden.
• Occasional evening, weekend, and holiday hours.

Skills and Abilities

• Demonstrated knowledge of formal and informal education principles and developmentally appropriate practices.
• Communicates effectively with diverse ages, backgrounds and all abilities.
• Works well independently and in a team environment; adaptable and solution-oriented.
• Energetic and personable; an innovative, creative thinker.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including public speaking and group facilitation.
• Excellent organizational skills; self-motivated with the ability to manage goals and productivity.
• Basic gardening knowledge a plus.
• Proficiency in conversational Spanish a plus.

Each employee of Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden

• Must comply with provisions of the current Employee handbook, all published personnel policies and the requirements of their individual job description.
• Must perform all duties in a manner consistent with a public garden serving multigenerational and multicultural individuals, families in accordance with directed practices and procedure.
• Must be aware of surroundings and vigilant to threats to the safety of visitors, volunteers, and staff or to security of their property, ensuring that all concerns are reported promptly.
• Must report all injuries and incidents immediately and ultimately in writing to supervisor(s) and to Human Resources.
• Must ensure compliance with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations.
• Must perform other duties as assigned by supervisor.

Physical Demands / Working Conditions

• Ability to carry up to 30 lbs.
• Ability to work outdoors in varied terrain and all weather conditions.
• Comfortable working in immediate proximity to general public in a safe and friendly manner.
• The position requires familiarity with all public areas of the 82-acre Garden property.

Note: Duties described above, other duties and physical demands have been identified as essential functions as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Education and Experience

• High school diploma.
• 2 years college, vocational training, or other work experience; focus on environmental studies a plus
• Demonstrated experience with the design and delivery of innovative, creative, high quality, and developmentally appropriate programs for all ages, backgrounds and abilities.
• Experience in a garden or other nature-based learning setting a plus.
• CPR and First Aid certification a plus.

Please note: This position is represented by International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, AFL-CIO. To discuss the specific needs of your group, please reach out to 804-359-4058.

To apply, please submit cover letter and resume to hr@lewisginter.org