Nursery Specialist

Organization Description:

Naples Botanical Garden is a 170-acre world-class paradise, featuring the flora and cultures of the tropics and sub-tropics including Brazil, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, and Florida. The Garden’s mission is to connect people and plants through display, education, conservation, and applied science. The Garden has beautifully restored native habitats, cultivated gardens, walking trails, and public programming that offer education and enjoyment for people of all ages. Naples Botanical Garden is a 501(c)3 organization.

Position Summary: This position will be responsible for supporting efforts to grow, safeguard and propagate native, and imperiled plant species of southwest Florida, the Caribbean, and tropics for conservation and restoration efforts. The successful candidate will assume a cross-departmental, collaborative role within Horticulture Nursery Team to further the Garden’s mission.

Primary Duties And Responsibilities

• Cultivate and propagate rare, endangered, and native plant species for conservation, seed and propagule bulking, and restoration projects in a cross-departmental collaborative environment.
• Maintain a diverse collection of native and rare plant diversity in greenhouse, shade house, in-ground, and nursery settings.
• Conduct and document propagation protocols in a team environment.
• Monitor plant health, growth, and development, supporting integrated pest management (IPM) strategies.
• Maintain accurate and detailed records, including plant propagation, collections records, and horticultural and IPM tasks.
• Contribute to conservation and collections databases.
• Stay up to date with current best practices in conservation horticulture.
• Assist with conservation fieldwork when possible, including seed and propagule collection.

Requirements/Qualifications

• Working knowledge of a variety of south Florida native plants and habitats.
• Ability to work effectively, as a member of the nursery team as well as independently, to see projects through to completion.
• Excellent organizational and record keeping skills.
• Possess great oral and written communication skills.
• Stand and work outdoors for long periods of time. Walk and inspect property in difficult terrain. Work in extreme temperatures. Lift and carry objects up to 50 pounds.
• Able to work indoors and outdoors.
• Pre-Employment background check required.
• Bachelor’s degree in plant sciences, Ecology, or Science related field, or equivalent work experience is preferred.

Benefits

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• Life Insurance
• Retirement Plan
• Long-Short Term Disability
• PTO
• Paid Holidays
• Garden Perks

Naples Botanical Garden is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The Garden has a long-standing policy of employment and advancement based solely upon qualifications to perform the essential elements of a position without regard to age, creed, gender, national origin or ancestry, race, color, religion, veteran status, pregnancy, marital status, HIV status, genetic information, sexual orientation, handicap or mental or physical disability, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin or disability.