High School Explainer Program

Explainers are high school students who have been accepted into a competitive, tiered internship program. They begin as volunteers in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden. While building community and developing professional skills, they grow as environmental stewards and learn outdoor education skills. Upon successful completion of the Intern Explainer program in fall or spring, youth have the opportunity to apply to the next tiers.

Intern Explainer
Explainers begin their internship by exploring the three-part mission of The New York Botanical Garden: Science, Education, and Horticulture, through interactive, hands-on tours and activities. Intern Explainers commit to a minimum of 125 volunteer hours, which includes orientation, training, and weekend shifts.
Interns conduct citizen science phenophase research in the Thain Family Forest and participate in seminars focused on environmental education, botany basics, climate literacy, horticulture, and career development. They develop teaching skills to facilitate activities for children and families throughout the 12 acres of the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden.

Advanced Explainers
After successful completion of a spring or fall internship season, youth may apply for the paid Advanced Explainer position. Advanced Explainers take a leadership role facilitating activities for visiting children and families throughout the 12 acres of the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden. They also participate in weekly peer mentorship sessions and monthly team meetings focused on career readiness skills and best practices for program facilitation.

Master Explainers
The third tier is a paid position called Master Explainer, a two-year mentorship role. Masters lead family programs and mentor Advanced Explainers, working together to plan and facilitate botany refreshers, career readiness workshops, and relevant topics during mentor meetings. (Those who successfully complete the internship are eligible to apply as Master positions open up.)

Senior Explainers
The final tier of the paid program is the Senior Explainer. Seniors are college students who have completed at least the Intern tier and serve as role models and mentors for the other tiers of Explainers. They support weekend intern seminar facilitation and model best practices for the Explainer Program. Seniors also gain experience maintaining the Children’s Garden exhibition spaces and seasonal programming materials. They work a full-day weekend shift and a half-day during the week. Senior Explainers are essential to the success of the program. This is a two-year position.

Intern Explainers spend much of their time outdoors in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden. They also collect data for their phenology project in the Thain Family Forest and have opportunities to explore the many exciting and beautiful areas across NYBG’s 250 acres. Family programs take place throughout the 12 acres of the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden. Trainings, as well as weekend opening and closing meetings, are held inside either the Dodge Activity Center or the Discovery Center buildings of the Children’s Garden. While we use indoor spaces, you can expect to spend plenty of time outdoors exploring, learning, and engaging with nature and children in all kinds of weather.

Teens share a sense of community, forge new friendships, and spend time outdoors exploring nature. They become more self-confident through public speaking, gain a deeper understanding of plant science and ecology, and share meaningful experiences with peers.

The onsite internship benefits include free admission for Explainers’ families to visit the Garden, discounts at the Café and Shop in the Garden, and documentation of service hours and recommendations for college or scholarship programs.

During the onsite internship, OMNY cards can be provided to help cover transportation costs to and from the Garden. Interns should communicate directly with their supervisor if they need this assistance.

Intern Explainers are accepted into the program twice a year in the spring or fall session. The application process for the fall session takes place late spring before summer break. Specific session dates are listed above. Each session requires a commitment to attend all four training days and one weekend shift of 4.5 hours for the duration of the internship. Interns who successfully complete internship requirements have the option to apply to advanced levels of the program.

Students who submit complete applications by the Application Deadline (see above for dates) are invited to attend a group interview. Students will be contacted via e-mail and given a scheduled interview date. Group interviews are interactive and take place in-person within the Children’s Adventure Garden. All applicants interviewed will receive an email following the interview with an admission decision.

Accepted applicants will receive an invitation to attend the required Explainer Orientation with a parent or guardian in person. Explainers accepted into the program are required to complete 24 hours of team training before they may begin actively volunteering. Dates of the orientation and training are noted on the website. Attendance is mandatory.

There is no single type of person who is chosen to be an Explainer. The best Explainers are enthusiastic learners who enjoy nature, science, and sharing discoveries with others (especially children). Explainers learn to communicate with the public and gain confidence in a variety of circumstances. Explainers don’t always start out as great public speakers, but they do begin with a willingness to work and try hard.

Application deadlines are strictly adhered to. If your application is submitted after the deadline, it will be considered for the next available session. If you would like to update your application, you may submit a new one at any time.

If Explainers have completed 125 volunteer hours at the six-month deadline:

• They may leave the Program
• They may apply to be an Advanced Explainer

Advanced Explainers are part-time employees paid through a generous grant from the NY City Council. Advanced Explainers teach visiting families in our Everett Children’s Adventure Garden Pop-Up, leading fun, interactive science education stations alongside Master and Senior Explainers. Additionally, Advanced Explainers participate in weekly mentor meetings to further their professional skills.

There are a small number of part-time, paid leadership opportunities at the Adventure Garden for the positions of Master and Senior Explainer. When these positions become available, Advanced Explainers in good standing may apply by submitting a resume and cover letter.

Explainers who do not complete the 125 hours before the six-month deadline do not receive a completion certificate or letter of recommendation for their service.

Because all Explainers receive all the training and enrichment they will need for the Program, Explainers need only to be enthusiastic learners with an interest in being good educators and helping others to learn and grow! Having a general interest in nature, plant sciences, ecology, and education is very helpful.

Intern Explainers are part of a community with their internship cohort. They spend the first half of their day with fellow interns and are expected to be kind, inclusive, and active participants during each session. Together, interns explore what NYBG has to offer through hands-on learning activities and tours. They also participate in informal environmental education and career readiness seminars.

Interns help young visitors use science process skills to explore nature and make their own discoveries alongside the other Explainer tiers. Activity stations focus on exploratory STEAM concepts that align with the seasonality of the Garden and NYBG’s garden-wide exhibitions. They rotate among activity stations and typically remain at a given station for up to one hour. Explainers receive a 30-minute break during every 4.5-hour shift.

In the onsite internship, regardless of season, Intern Explainers spend time outside collaborating on a citizen science phenology project. They work in small groups collecting data on specific plant species in the Thain Family Forest and prepare a final presentation together. At the end of their internship, they showcase their presentation to the public and fellow Explainers.