Interned at Lauritzen Gardens
Summer 2008

Elizabeth and the children at Garden Passport camp with their passports Elizabeth and the children looking at Snappy the Turtle in the pond during a garden day camp.

Between handfuls of unfocused ten-year-olds, hunting for frogs and a week-long all-girls camp, I managed to learn a thing or two about the wonderful world of public garden education. There were days I felt like I worked at the zoo, but in fact I was the education intern at Lauritzen Gardens in Omaha, Nebraska and I loved every minute of it or most of them at least.

I was responsible for a special program at the garden in association with the Kiewit Foundation of Omaha. I taught five different garden-themed programs to children ages five to 18. I also co-taught day camps and led youth tours. These first-hand experiences were more beneficial than money could buy. I went through nearly every experience imaginable from tours that didn't show up to two groups showing up at once and leaders falling asleep in my classroom. I found out how amazing it is to teach children about plants and insects in the garden and watch their faces light up as they discover a caterpillar morphing into a chrysalis or watch their seed germinate.

Not only did I have a priceless experience with the kids, I also learned the ins and outs of the education department: booking tours, creating camp themes, and dealing with volunteers.

As graduation slowly rises over the horizon, I am prepared to use my experiences as I hunt for jobs in public garden education. Much of this experiencewhich is very applicable to other areas of life in general, like how to handle scheduling conflicts, angry visitors and chatty volunteers; most importantly, I have found a place where I enjoy going to work and I get to have fun traveling through the garden with children!I have had internships in the past where I learned what I didn't want to do, but I finally found something I want to do.