Vivant Gardening Services, a Chicago-based small business providing garden services to residents, restaurants and community groups around the North Side of Chicago, is offering Internships for its growing projects during the Spring, Summer, and Fall seasons. Clients represent a wide variety of spaces including harvest-intensive kitchen gardens, pollinator gardens, green roofs, community gardens, containers and more. By working with Vivant in these spaces, an intern will gain valuable knowledge and experience in topics such as garden planning, planting, maintenance, harvesting, eco-friendly pest and weed control, proposal and grant writing, community organizing, as well as what it takes to operate a small business.
A Vivant Intern represents the company and is expected to uphold our values of respect and dedication to the environment (both people and planet) at all times. This requires punctuality, honesty, cleanliness, and a genuine passion for learning sustainable, organic gardening.
What you will learn:
Soil preparation and planting methods for perennials and crops in urban gardens, adhering to organic growing practices
Sustainable harvesting practices, proper food handling, weighing, recording and storage
Horticultural Basics (weeding, watering/irrigation, pruning, cleaning and overall garden care).
Non-Profit Management of Montrose Metra Community Garden plots and Volunteer projects
Maintenance habits for all gardening-related equipment, tools and supplies
The Day-to-day Decision-making and organization required to manage a modern small business
Qualifications:
Ability to follow direction and comply with safe-food-handling instructions
Self motivated to complete tasks in a timely manner
Ability to lift up to 50 pounds and use typical gardening tools safely
Physical ability to walk, stand, reach, squat and work in all weather conditions and on uneven surfaces
Basic plant knowledge and respect of organic practices
Transportation to garden sites on the north side of Chicago
Enthusiasm for learning and completing tasks at hand in a timely manner
We are seeking one Intern for each season Spring internship will run March 1 - Memorial Day ... applications due Jan. 15 Summer internship will run June 1 - Labor Day ... applications due April 10 Fall internship will run Sept. 1 - the end of November ... applications due Aug 10
Each internship requires a commitment of 10-15 hours per week with availability between 8am-12pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays, other weekdays as needed and occasional Saturdays. A stipend of $300 will be paid at the end of the internship with potential for hired work to follow.
Explore this site for more info on our company and services. To apply for our internship, please email resume and cover letter to learn@vivantgardens.com.