Located 25 miles north of downtown Chicago, the Garden's 385-acre campus includes 81 acres of lakes, streams, and wetlands. Over the past 18 years, ½-million native aquatic and shoreline plants have been added along 4.5 miles of our lakeshore. These shoreline plantings have been effective in stabilizing eroding shoreline soils and enhancing aquatic habitat, and they now serve as a research site for scientific study. Most recently, the award-winning North Lake Shoreline Restoration Project added 120,000 new plants to our shoreline – visit http://www.cbgshoreline.org for more information.
The Aquatic Plant Maintenance seasonal staff work closely with the Assistant Ecologist, Lakes and the Garden's Curator of Aquatics to maintain these new shoreline plantings. Typical work responsibilities for this position include removal of weedy/invasive plant and algae species, replanting due to plant mortality or herbivory, and other maintenance activities to support robust plant communities and aesthetic shoreline conditions. Staff in this position are provided with an exceptional opportunity to learn identification of 240 taxa of native wetland plants while gaining a better understanding of lake shoreline erosion control strategies and shoreline ecology. Employees also have the opportunity to participate in several training and mentoring programs provided by the Garden’s distinguished staff of conservation scientists. To learn more and to apply follow this link: https://www.chicagobotanic.org/jobs/aquatic_plant_maintenance_f
