CareErs in Public Horticulture
Career Category:
Education
Position Title:
School and Youth Education Coordinator
Position Summary
- Develops and manages diverse educational prgorams for young audiences, including k-12 field trips and programs, camps, and special demonstrations
- This position often requires and undergraduate degree and 3-5 years of experience
- Other abilities: supervisory and interpersonal skills, and the ability to communicate with diverse age groups
2006 APGA Salary Range
$24,000 to $51,458
Career Profiles of School and Youth Education Coordinators
Mike Kerkman
Title
Botanical Educator, The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Garden
Job Responsibilities
- Professional development for educators: train high school life science teachers in hands-on botany lessons to use in their classrooms
- Volunteer training: prepare Huntington volunteers to lead botanical educational programs
- School groups development: write, test, and revise programs for K-12 school groups that come to the Huntington for educational field trips
Educational Background
- B.S. in Botany, Northern Arizona University
- M.S. in Natural Sciences, emphasis in Environmental Education, University of Wisconsin- Stevens Point
- Education Internship: Longwood Gardens College Internship Program
Practical Experience
- Elementary education teacher training in forestry education for Master's thesis
- Environmental Education Resource Specialist as part of graduate assistantship
- Current position accepted upon completion of graduate school
Favorite / Least Favorite Parts of the Job
- Favorite: Teaching people about how cool plants are; working in a beautiful place
- Least favorite: Well, no one goes into a non-profit field for the money... but sometimes the pay can be a bit rough