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Higher Education and Training
Horticultural Internship Programme of Practical Work Experience
The practical horticultural internship programme at RBG Kew is offered both to UK and overseas students and is purely practically based. The School of Horticulture coordinates internships lasting three months which consist of eighty percent unpaid, practical work experience in the garden and twenty percent group study time in the School of Horticulture and on study tours. Interns are welcome to use facilities at Kew such as the Main Library or the Herbarium outside of work-placement time, to aid private study.
No formal training in horticulture is given, so some previous horticultural experience is essential. The practical work is often routine maintenance, but it is possible to develop or further personal interests in plants or horticulture by working alongside our highly trained staff within the living collections and participating in the study tours.
There are four main sections within the Gardens, each having specialist units offering work placement opportunities. The programme allows for a three-month work placement within one unit of following sections:
• Great Glasshouses and Training
Section - including public display houses, nurseries and propagation
facilities
• Hardy Display Section - the northern end of the gardens including,
decorative,
herbaceous, amenity and alpine collections
• Arboretum and Horticultural Services Section - the main collections
of woody temperate plants, including aboreta, the pinetum and
supporting nursery
• Public Programmes and Curatorial Support Section - Project planning
and festivals, interpretation, micropropagation and public education
Other internship opportunities are available at Kew's satellite garden Wakehurst Place in Sussex.
During study days, tours will be arranged to:
• The Main Library
• The Herbarium
• The Centre for Economic Botany
• The Micropropagation Laboratory
• The Jodrell Laboratory and Technical Glasshouses
• Non-public Nursery areas
• Kew's three main display glasshouses
• Green waste recycling and composting facilities
• Seasonal attractions including the Pagoda and Kew Palace
Garden tours will visit Wakehurst Place, home to the Millennium Seed Bank, and may include the Royal Horticultural Society's Garden at Wisley and London parks and gardens.
During their time at Kew, Interns will also be asked to
complete a small project in the
form of a practical work diary, contribute to a 'Plant of the Week'
forum and take part in monthly Plant Identification sessions with
practical trainees at Kew, within their section of the gardens.
Interns are welcome to attend the Kew Mutual Improvement Society evening lectures, a series of lectures run by Kew Diploma students that take place after work on Monday evenings between September and March.
Application procedure
Early applications are recommended as the application and selection process can take 8-10 weeks.
Applicants are responsible for financing the full duration of their internship. Funding opportunities can include: employer sponsored, grants from universities or colleges, scholarships and bursaries, or self-sponsorship. For more information about scholarships and funding please visit the Grants for Horticulturists website.
An online version of the Horticultural Internship Application Pack with guidance notes is available from the following link:
Application pack (single pdf document for printing and filling out by hand.)
You will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the pdf format forms.
For further information or a printed application pack, please contact the Horticultural Internship Coordinator .
Alternatively, apply in writing to
Horticultural Internship Coordinator
The School of Horticulture
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Richmond
Surrey TW9 3AB
UKTel: + 44 (0)20 8332 5580
Fax: + 44 (0)20 8332 5574
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