Gardening and Landscaping Assistant

The UNCG Office of Sustainability is hiring two students to support gardening and landscaping efforts on campus. The Assistants will support the UNCG Garden Club, the Peabody Park Preservation Committee, and the Bee Campus Committee. This is a year-round part-time hourly position that requires summer hours with a start date of July 1.

The Assistants will report to Sean MacInnes, UNCG's Sustainability Coordinator, and have the opportunity to serve on the above mentioned committees during their employment. 

UNCG has been recognized by the Arbor Day Foundation as a Tree Campus since 2009 and has recently been designated as a Pollinator Friendly Bee Campus by the Xerxes Society. The Peabody Park Woods, UNCG Gardens, and campus landscaping are integral to both of those endeavors and are also highly used for research purposes by faculty and students. 

Assistants will maintain the community garden at McIver St. during the summer when a majority of the student Garden Club is not on campus. Gardening experience is preferred, but not necessary. Assistants will be responsible for mowing the grass, weeding and watering the garden beds, and harvesting food that will be donated to the Spartan Open Pantry.

During the Fall and Spring semesters work will shift to supporting the Peabody Park Preservation Committee and Bee Campus Committee. 

Assistants will support efforts to restore Peabody Park Woods to their natural habitat by mapping and removing invasive plant species, while also planting native pollinator friendly vegetation, and supporting the biannual Peabody Park Ivy Pull volunteer event. Additionally, UNCG is expanding the number of pollinator friendly gardens on campus that will also need attention to ensure their long-term health.

The majority of this work will be done outside and will be laborious. Duties include hand-pulling weeds, spraying herbicide (when necessary), cleaning and maintaining common spaces in the park, and mapping native and invasives species using ArcGIS. 

The position allows for flexible scheduling and the opportunity to support and gain experience in a real-world ecological restoration project. 

We encourage students from all majors and backgrounds to apply—especially those interested in environmental science, biology, or sustainability. Help make a difference right here on campus! 

Please be sure your cover letter addresses if you have gardening experience, your passion for environmental stewardship, whether that's recycling, climate change, gardening, etc., and provide examples of any work, volunteer, entrepreneurial, or club experience related to the responsibilities of this position.