One Day, One Job » horticulture

American Horticultural Society

Willy Franzen — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 13:46:11 +0000

I don’t think I realized how much I enjoyed the gardens my parents had in our backyard until I moved to a city and lived in a high-rise. As cool as it is to be 30 stories up and see tiny people going about their business below, I’d much rather be able to open my back door and see blooms, butterflies, bees, and birds. I’ll bet that the people at the non-profit American Horticultural Society would agree with me. The AHS “is one of the oldest national gardening organizations in the country,” and since their founding in 1922 they’ve grown to more than 20,000 members. The AHS is headquartered in Alexandria, VA at a placed called River Farm, which was owned by George Washington. It includes 25 acres of landscaped lawns and gardens, so I’m sure it’s stunning.

Enter the Garden

As the American Horticultural Society has grown, its mission has evolved to blend “education, social responsibility, and environmental stewardship with the art and science of horticulture.” You can browse through some of their programs on the AHS website, and the key thing to remember is that the AHS puts a really strong focus on providing information to its members–mostly because that’s what gardeners want. If you like the idea of working in a place surrounded by gardens, then you’ll want to check out jobs at the AHS. The one entry levelish position they have posted right now is only on Idealist , and it’s a Member Services Associate job. It looks like a great opportunity for a new grad, so check it out.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you have a garden?

Sacramento Tree Foundation

Willy Franzen — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 15:56:59 +0000

I used to wake up every day, look out the window, and see the Chicago skyline. In my new place, I wake up and see a whole bunch of trees. Though I know I’ll miss being able to watch the city from a few hundred feet up, it’s a nice change. Who doesn’t love trees? Well, the people at the Sacramento Tree Foundation probably love trees even more than the average person. The Sacramento Tree Foundation is a non-profit organization based in Sacramento, CA that is “working to grow healthy, livable communities in the Sacramento region by empowering people to plant, protect, and learn about trees.” They have a goal of planting 5 million trees in the area by 2025. Though they have a long way to go, they’ve already gotten off to a great start.

Turn Over a New Leaf

As awesome as trees are, Sacramento Tree Foundation isn’t promoting the planting of trees just for the heck of it. They’re promoting trees because trees create all kinds of positive outcomes. They provide shade, clean the air, look beautiful, and even bring communities together. The Sacramento Tree Foundation pursues all of these goals through a number of different Programs and Services. These include Sacramento to Shade, Seed to Seedling, NeighborWoods, nature: Native Trees in the Urban and Rural Environment, Mature Trees, Greenprint Initiative, Community Education, and Parking Lot Retrofits. Right now they’re looking for a Greenprint Relations Coordinator. The job is posted on Idealist, but surprisingly not on the Sacramento Tree Foundation’s Jobs page (which has no current postings). Give the job a look and see if it’s worth applying for.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What’s your favorite kind of tree?

Hamilton Farm Bureau

Willy Franzen — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 15:53:35 +0000

Somehow my Dad and I forgot to get the proper cord to hook up my iPhone to his car speakers. That’s a big mistake when you’re doing two 13 hour drives in less than a week. We really could have used a book on tape considering that NPR is pretty much the only non-music station that comes in reliably in Northern Maine (and the CBC once we get close to the border). I know I’ll catch a lot of flack for this, but I’m not an NPR fan (it bores me to tears, and the CBC is even worse); however, there was a segment this morning that caught my attention. It was on Hamilton Farm Bureau and how they’re having trouble hiring qualified people. Considering that the company is based in Hamilton, MI and has locations across the state of Michigan, you’d think they’d be able to tap into the nearly 20% of state residents who are under or unemployed. Who knew that a cooperative that “sells fertilizer and propane gas, packages and ships eggs, and helps farmers market what they raise” would have so much trouble finding good people?

Cooperate with Hamilton Farm Bureau

I get a lot of complaints from readers who think that I cover too many companies in tech. I realize that a lot of people don’t have the skills for those kinds of jobs, but that’s where the jobs are. I’m waiting for the day that someone e-mails me and asks me about resources for learning the kind of skills that might make them a fit for these kinds of jobs. Hamilton Farm Bureau is facing a similar problem to many tech companies. I guess there just aren’t a lot of people who have strong sales skills and an interest or background in agriculture. If you went to an ag school, you could be a great fit–and if you didn’t, maybe there’s some way you could position yourself to become one.

I must admit that I am a bit frustrated with Hamilton Farm Bureau. Wade Blowers, their COO, was quoted extensively throughout the NPR piece on how the cooperative has had to slow down its growth (they currently have 130 employees and $130 million in revenue) because it can’t find the right people for jobs. He goes on to mention a few ideas for why this might be such a problem (but he never dives into exactly what he is looking for). I have a way better idea than he does. THEY DON’T HAVE JOBS POSTED ON THEIR JOBS PAGE. I’m not joking. They just had a huge PR win for their employment branding efforts, and they are completely unprepared. All they have posted are two delivery positions. I don’t see any postings for sales people who “typically take on a heavy consultative role in the farm.” I don’t see any positions related to agricultural technology. So how you should respond? Do some research. Learn more about Hamilton Farm Bureau and their business. Then track down Wade Blowers and tell him how you can help grow the business. It’s worth a try, right?

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Did you hear the NPR segment on Hamilton Farm Bureau?

Saint Louis Zoo

Willy Franzen — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 14:32:35 +0000

I’m in St. Louis for the weekend, mostly to watch my girlfriend’s little sister’s volleyball tournament, but I’m looking for other cool things to do since it’s my first time here. Yesterday I got to visit the Saint Louis Zoo, which is fantastic. (And I promise I didn’t act like this kid.) I got to see monkeys, giraffes, zebras, lions, penguins, gorillas, elephants, somali wild asses, and a whole range of other animals that I’d never even heard of before. I even got to see the mountain nyala that makes an appearance in the zoo’s logo. I was really impressed with the Saint Louis Zoo—it has a wonderful layout and an amazing collection of animals. The best part, though, was that we got to see feeding time for the grizzly bears. It may sound barbaric, but it was nothing of the sort. We watched as two of the laziest bears that I’ve ever seen would catch oranges in their mouths and then suck out the meat while leaving behind the rind. What made the experience even better was that it was free. Saint Louis Zoo is a “free zoo,” so all you have to pay for is parking.

Don’t Be a Somali Wild Ass

The Saint Louis Zoo got its start with the 1904 World’s Fair, but wasn’t officially started until 1910 that the Zoological Society of St. Louis was established. They eventually chose a site and started acquiring animals. It’s been a huge success, and I think that the Saint Louis Zoo is certainly achieving its mission to “conserve animals and their habitats through animal management, research, recreation, and educational programs that encourage the support and enrich the experience of the public.” You can learn a ton about the zoo by reading up on its history, so do that and then take a look at their Jobs page. They have a number of seasonal positions opening up for spring and summer, along with some great full-time positions. You’ll want to take an especially close look at the following jobs: Membership Assistant, Horticulture Gardener, Keeper – Children’s Zoo, Keeper- Great Apes, Keeper – Invertebrates, and Keeper – Sea Lion Show. It’s a great zoo, so if you don’t apply for a job, at least give it a visit.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you visited the Saint Louis Zoo?

Commonstudio

Willy Franzen — Tue, 04 May 2010 14:55:41 +0000

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve received e-mails from readers who say something like, “I’ve always loved (company name), but I never considered the fact that I could work for them until I read your post about them.” The reason for this is simple: most job seekers don’t have the right mindset or approach. If you’re looking for a job, everything that you do should relate back to the job search. If you find something interesting—a product, company, idea, or anything else—you need to make a note of it and revisit it when you’re at your computer. For example, today I came across an article on Cool Hunting about Guerrilla Seed Bombs. They’re basically little nuggets that you can toss, chuck, or drop in dirt to plant seeds and improve green spaces. It’s part of the “guerrilla gardening” movement, and I think it’s a really neat idea—Johnny Appleseed for the new millennium. One of the companies behind these seed bombs is Los Angeles, CA based Commonstudio. They appear to be a two person design firm, and they’ve developed their seed grenades to be dispensed in old gum ball machines and sold under the name Green Aid (get it… grenade).

Plant a Seed

Since the idea of guerrilla gardening may be a new concept to you, I’ve included a video that will give you a little better idea of what Commonstudio is trying to achieve with this project.

Obviously this is a really cool idea, but who knows if it will actually help your job search. Commonstudio looks like a tiny firm with only one other project, (C)urban Ecology. They don’t say that they’re hiring, and who knows if they could even afford to take on employees? That doesn’t matter. When you come across ideas that grab you, you need to act on them. Reach out to the folks at Commonstudio at info@thecommonstudio.com and see if there might be a role for you. If there isn’t, use this idea as inspiration to lead you towards something else. That’s how you find a job without spending hours on the big, boring job boards.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Are you a guerrilla gardener?

Seed Savers Exchange

Willy Franzen — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 15:00:14 +0000

You’ve probably heard the term “heirloom,” in reference to fruits or vegetables. For the longest time I had no idea what it meant, but eventually I asked someone and the gist of the definition is “any garden plant that has a history of being passed down within a family, just like pieces of heirloom jewelry or furniture.” More often than not the plants are passed down in the form of seeds. Heirloom breeds of plants are important not only for sentimental reasons, but also because they provide genetic diversity. By maintaining old breeds of plants with their unique resistance to disease and pests, we are able to ensure the security of our food supply. Seed Savers Exchange is a Decorah, IA based non-profit that “saves and shares the heirloom seeds of our garden heritage, forming a living legacy that can be passed down through generations.”

Seeding a New Career

Seed Savers Exchange maintains “more than 25,000 endangered vegetable varieties,” which makes them “biggest non-governmental seed bank in the United States.” They’re more focused on working with smaller farmers and gardeners, which makes sense because those are typically the people most interested in heirloom varieties. In a lot of ways, the seeds that Seed Savers Exchange provides resemble art. The genetic diversity thing is important, but the history of the seeds and the varieties of flavors of the plants that grow from them is just as important. If you’re intrigued by what Seed Savers Exchange does, you should check out their Jobs page. Right now they have a number of positions posted that seem suitable for entry level candidates including Lab Technician, Collection Assistant – Field Operations, Assistant Curator – Seed Plants, and Horticulturist – Field Manager. The job descriptions go into a lot of detail, so check them out for all of the details.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you do any gardening?