Part-time Educator - Youth & Family Engagement; Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden

Job Listing:
Part-time Educator - Youth & Family Engagement (Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden)

Part-Time: 8am to 1pm weekdays / 25 hours per week may vary

Date Posted:

September 10, 2025

Anticipated

Start Date:

Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden’s mission is connecting people to plants by inspiring communities to explore and conserve nature.

We are a Virginia garden of international significance leading in horticultural and educational excellence. We cultivate experiences that enhance each person’s relationship with the natural world.

Responsibility, Innovation, Integrity, Hospitality and Inspiration

Founded in 1984, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden is a nonprofit garden located in Richmond, Virginia’s Lakeside neighborhood. The Garden encompasses 82 acres, four lakes, 5,500 unique taxa of plants within 15 distinct outdoor gardens, 11 major buildings including a conservatory and greenhouse, plus an 80-acre branch site, the Lewis Ginter Nature Reserve. Annually, Lewis Ginter engages over 17,000 students in innovative and exciting education programs.

This cadre of identified learners is just a fraction of the more than 400,000 annual visitors to the Garden. In recent years, the Garden has been honored with inclusion in several top ten lists for botanical gardens in North America.

Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, age, disability or national origin in the hiring, retention, or promotion of employees. We support the diversity and inclusion policy adopted by The American Public Gardens Association: to create an equitable, diverse and inclusive culture where the contributions of all community members are valued, respected and appreciated.

Part-Time Educators are a vital part of the Youth and Family Engagement (YFE) team. Educators facilitate outdoor educational programming for Pre‑K to 12th grade students, lead drop‑in programming for families, and provide support in horticultural tasks within the Children’s Garden.

The typical work schedule for this position is 8:00am – 1:00pm Monday – Friday.

• Facilitates nature‑based learning programming for Pre‑K to 12th‑grade school groups, families, and summer camps.
• Responsible for daily operations of the Children’s Garden on weekdays, including opening, set‑up, and clean‑up for the Children’s Garden, the Waterway, and program areas.
• Maintains physical spaces within the Children’s Garden:
  • Ensures tidiness of activity spaces.
  • Performs basic horticultural tasks (watering, weeding, planting, harvesting).
  • Participates in staff workdays to support larger projects.
• Assists YFE staff with additional programming, which may include:
  • Leading summer camp.
  • Support for school group arrivals.
  • Occasional teaching/support of off‑site programs at partner organizations in the community.
  • Assists with the Garden’s yearly Garden Fest of Lights holiday light show.
    • Occasional evening shifts required.
• Completes other duties as assigned, including:
  • Actively participates in staff training and department meetings.
  • Completes American Red Cross First Aid and CPR training.
  • Ensures that guests’ fundamental needs for safety, security, and comfort are met at all times in the Garden.
  • Occasional evening, weekend, and holiday hours.

• Demonstrated knowledge of formal and informal education principles and developmentally appropriate practices.
• Communicates effectively with diverse ages, backgrounds, and all abilities.
• Works well independently and in a team environment; adaptable and solution‑oriented.
• Energetic and personable; an innovative, creative thinker.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including public speaking and group facilitation.
• Excellent organizational skills; self‑motivated with the ability to manage goals and productivity.
• Able to work varied hours outside the traditional work week, including weekends, evenings, holidays, and special events, including Garden Fest.
• Basic gardening knowledge is a plus.
• Proficiency in conversational Spanish a plus.

• Must comply with provisions of the current Employee handbook, all published…