Conservation Botanist

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens•Boothbay, ME

1d•$25 - $28

About The Position

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens is hiring a Conservation Botanist! Are you a botanist who is passionate about conserving native plant biodiversity, excited about inspiring meaningful connections among people and nature in one of the most beautiful settings in Maine, and committed to supporting the Gardens’ Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility goals? This is a Year-round, Full-time, benefits eligible position. Year-round employees receive personal and sick paid time off, health and retirement benefits, discounts in our culinary programs and Gardenshop, and a Gardens membership. $25.00 - 28.00 hourly, non-exempt The Conservation Botanist is responsible for contributing to Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens’ integrated plant conservation activities, including in and ex situ conservation, research, and herbarium management projects. The Conservation Botanist will work closely with the Plant Conservation Program Manager and Curator of Living Collections to add collections to the Gardens' conservation seed bank, living collections, and herbarium; advance conservation research studies and programs, conduct fieldwork to track and assess the biodiversity and vulnerability of plants in Maine’s three Level III ecoregions. During the field season, the Conservation Botanist may be assisted by an assistant or intern. Frequent travel throughout Maine and occasionally New England is required. This position will spend approximately 40% of time in the field, 30% of time on ex situ collections management, 15% of time on permitting and reporting, and 15% of time on herbarium accessions and identifications.

Requirements

Degree or training in the plant sciences, biology, or ecology.
Knowledge of plant taxonomy and botanical nomenclature.
Experience identifying plants.
Experience conducting field research and tracking rare plants.
Experience collecting and processing seed for conservation seed banking.
Experience collecting and mapping data using coordinate systems and global positioning systems.
Experience with Microsoft Office and Teams.
Commitment to working across the organization to support the integration of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility principles into the Gardens' internal operations and its relationships with visitors and guests.

Nice To Haves

Experience with BGBASE, IrisBG, BRAHMS or other plant databases desired but not necessary.

Responsibilities

Identify plants in the field and in the herbarium
Search for target plant taxa and collect seed for ex situ conservation programs
Search for target uncommon plant taxa, assess abundance and threats, and collect voucher specimens to document plant biodiversity in the Gardens' herbarium
Augment rare plant populations
Research land ownership and gain permission to access sites and make conservation collections in Maine and its local ecoregions