Nursery and Landscaping Internship
at Fern Hill Nursery and Botanical Sanctuary
Fern Hill Nursery and Botanical Sanctuary is located on over 50 acres of land on a beautiful forested hillside. We specialize in edible, medicinal, and native plants with a focus on native medicinal plants, perennial vegetables, and fruiting shrubs. Interns will work directly with one of the two co-owners and managers of the nursery and sanctuary. Depending on the season and the intern's interests, experience, and learning objectives there are a variety of tasks which the intern may perform. These tasks include:
- Plant propagation and nursery maintenance
- Year-round annual, perennial garden and orchard maintenance and harvest
- Establishment of new perennial and annual garden beds
- Food preservation
- Medicinal herb garden maintenance, harvest, processing, and preservation
- Botanical Sanctuary workshop outreach and marketing
- Mapping and landscape design
Skills, knowledge, and experience that students will gain through this internship:
Interns will certainly gain experience in the following areas:
- Plant propagation and nursery management
- Northwest native plant ecology
- Year-round annual, perennial, garden, and orchard maintenance, harvest, and preservation
- Project planning, prioritization, and task management
Proactive and motivated interns with specific goals in mind may gain experience in the following areas:
- Botany, plant taxonomy, plant physiology, and soils
- Small business planning and administration
- Medicinal herb garden maintenance, harvest, and preservation
- Forest management - mapping, harvest selection, habitat restoration
- Fence and other outdoor infrastructure creation and maintenance
- Alternative and appropriate technologies for nurseries and homesteads
- Northwest ethnobotany
Preferred skills, knowledge and experience:
Required qualifications:
- Physical ability to walk, stand, bend over, lift medium sized objects (less than 50lbs), and manipulate small items with their hands
- Ability to communicate with others while planning and executing tasks as a team
Enthusiasm to learn about edible plants, landscaping, soils, and small business
Optional qualifications:
- Background knowledge in agriculture, botany, biology, soils, earth or environmental sciences
- Experience performing physical work in farming, horticulture, landscaping, or field biology
- Experience and knowledge of annual and perennial gardening, plant identification, and permaculture design
We are located 2 miles west of Cottage Grove, about 25 miles from campus. There is a LTD bus that runs to Eugene and back multiple times a day and we are a few miles from the bus stop.
We can be flexible with schedules based on student's needs. A student could come twice a week for 3 hours, twice a week for 6 hours, for weekend work (up to 16 hours on one weekend), etc.
This is not a paid internship.
This internship is available in fall, winter, spring, or summer terms. Fall and Spring are the best terms for this internship.
Application information:
If you are interested in pursuing this opportunity, please send us an email with your contact information and answers to the following questions. Please specify that you are a student in UO ENVS. We will contact you to set up a time to talk more.
1. What specific skills, knowledge and experience are you looking to gain in the next year?
2. Why are you interested in an internship with us?
3. Right now, what are you most inspired by?
4. What experience do you have with gardening, farming, and land management?
5. What experience do you have serving as an apprentice, intern, or volunteer? Do you prefer to work alone or with others? Why?
Thanks for your interest!! We look forward to the possibility of working and learning with you.
Devon Bonady and Brian Basor
Fern Hill Nursery and Botanical Sanctuary
(541) 942-3118