Nursery Gardener

(Paid Opportunities) Return to Paid Opportunities

Start Date: October 2025 to June 30, 2026  Compensation: $24.16/Hour

NYC Parks is the steward of over 30,000 acres of land — 14 percent of New York City — including more than 5,000 individual properties ranging from Coney Island Beach and Central Park to community gardens and Greenstreets. We look after 600,000 street trees, and two million more in parks. The Division of Environment and Planning aims to protect, restore, and expand New York City's green spaces and natural areas to maximize their benefits for environmental and community health and resilience. The Natural Resources Group within Environment and Planning manages over 10,000 acres of natural areas across the five boroughs, including forests, grasslands, and wetlands, and has secured tens of millions of dollars of grant from state, federal and private sources over the past decades to fund the restoration and
management across these ecosystems. Employees who work for 6 months or longer are eligible for healthcare benefits. All seasonal employees earn sick and annual leave. All employees receive free membership to our recreation centers.

Responsibilities/Duties

  • • Under supervision, assist with all aspects of indoor and outdoor plant production: weeding, watering, fertilizing; moving and pulling of stock to fill orders; transplanting and step up of nursery and greenhouse starter materials, preparation of soil mixes and potting operations.
    • Work as a team to perform landscape management and nursery yard maintenance involving identifying and controlling invasive species, removing debris and trash, weed whacking, mowing lawn areas, maintenance of hoop houses and irrigation systems.
    • Work with the seed team to prepare, maintain, harvest and clean seed from seed increase plots at multiple locations, including NYCParks Plant Ecology Center and Nursery (PECaN) 3808 Victory Blvd, Staten Island PECaN, Floyd Bennett Field and Fresh Kills.
    • As needed, provide assistance with wild seed collections, making off-site visits to natural areas- recognize species, determine seed maturity and follow all protocols.
    • Assist in and perform tasks involved in the operation and care of hand and power tools and equipment. Make necessary operating adjustments; report needs for repairs and replacements to supervisor.
    • Drive vehicles and operate other motorized equipment including mowers, tractors and two-cycle equipment such as hedge-trimmers.
    • Enter field work information into data forms, spreadsheets or web-based databases in a timely manner after work is completed.
    • As needed supervise and train interns, volunteers and other staff. Interact with staff and the public in a courteous and professional manner.Experience with operation and basic maintenance of farm machinery including tractors, implements, and seed cleaning machines.
  • Experience with hand and power tools and their maintenance a plus.
  • Familiarity with both native and invasive plant species of the northeastern United States.
  • Familiarity with Microsoft Office Suite.
  • Ability to work outside and perform physical labor with little supervision.
  • Ability to safely lift 50 lbs. of weight.

Qualifications/Requirements

  • One year of full‐time experience in gardening work, including experience in each of the following planting, cultivating and caring for trees, plants shrubs and lawns; or
  • A certificate from a horticulture or botanic program containing college‐level courses, such as programs offered by the New York Botanical Garden, the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, etc.; or a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college a in an area related to the duties described above
  • A satisfactory combination of education and/or experience that is equivalent to “1” above. Thirty semester credits from an accredited college, at least fifteen of which must be in horticulture, agriculture, agronomy, plant pathology, botany, landscape design or architecture, entomology, forestry, floriculture, plant production and/or crop management, may be substituted for the one year of the work experience described in “1” above.
  • License Requirement: A motor vehicle driver license valid in the State of New York. This license must be maintained for the duration of employment.

Additional Information

Residency in New York City, Nassau, Orange, Rockland, Suffolk, Putnam or Westchester counties required for employees with over two years of city service. New York City residency required for all other candidates.
Fees: Hired candidates will be subject to a processing fee of $68.00. Hired candidates who are not currently employed by the City will be
subject to a $101.25.00 background check fee.

HOW TO APPLY: Email resume and cover letter to Rachel.Chaiken@parks.nyc.gov

City employees please include your ERN on your cover letter and resume and all applicants indicate which position you are applying for.

POST DATE: 08/15/2025 POST UNTIL: FILLED
If you have any questions regarding this posting or require a reasonable accommodation during the application process, please email Rachel
Chaiken (Rachel.Chaiken@parks.nyc.gov).
References will be required upon request. We appreciate the interest of all applicants. Only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

Contact Information

NYC PARKS DEPT.