Horticulture Tech (Nursery Assistant/Gardener)

Department

FACILITY OPERATIONS-IUB (BL-PHYP-IUBLA)

Department Information

Capital Planning and Facilities (CPF) works to ensure that Indiana University (IU) campuses are beautiful, functional, and sustainable supporting excellence in teaching, learning, research, and community engagement across the entire university. A unit within CPF, Facility Operations, maintains our physical campus to support research, teaching, and learning at Indiana University Bloomington.

Job Summary

Department-Specific Responsibilities

• Maintains woody, perennial, and annual plants and beds to ensure their healthy, safe, and attractive condition including weeding, mulching, pruning, transplanting, fertilizing, and removal of any dead, diseased, or declining plant stock.
• Operates standard nursery and grounds keeping equipment.
• Performs installation, maintenance, and upkeep of native landscapes.
• Applies knowledge on Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) landscapes.
• Performs installation and maintenance of stormwater retention swales.
• Applies intricate knowledge and expertise of all shrub and perennial species.
• Performs pest and disease identification.
• Identifies weeds, including noxious and common weeds, as well as invasive species.
• Provides emergency response for grounds related campus emergencies.

General Responsibilities

• Propagates, maintains, and nurtures young plant stock.
• Installs landscape designs by planting a variety of materials.
• Prunes and shapes trees, shrubs, and other plants.
• Operates loader and mixer to prepare soil mixes.
• Assists supervisor with implementing seasonal projects.
• Monitors plant stock for pests and diseases.
• Performs grounds maintenance work including weeding, seeding, mowing, snow removal.

Qualifications

Required Education: High school diploma or equivalent.

Required Work Experience: 2 years of greenhouse production experience; 2 years of landscape or grounds-related maintenance experience.

Required Licenses: Valid driver's license.

Preferred: Pesticide/herbicide applicators licensure.

Working Conditions / Demands

This role requires the ability to remain in a stationary position as well as the ability to move about the workplace for long durations. It requires effective communication, the ability to operate machinery, tools, and controls.