General Outline of the
Student's Volunteer Botanical Internship Program

January - February 2010

Program dates

Monday, January 4^th to Friday, February 19^th
Welcome to participants in the Program is at 9.15 am on 4^th January.
Successful applicants need to be at the Theatrette, next to the Visitor Centre (at top of carpark) in the Australian National Botanic Gardens (Clunies Ross St, Black Mountain) by 9.00 am to register.

Work days and hours

The Internship operates on the basis of a time commitment of five days per week. Core days, on which most of the formal training will take place, are Tuesday to Thursday.
We recognise that part-time work, study and/or family commitments may disrupt this somewhat, and may require Interns (for example) to miss the odd day, or to extend the Internship into March to meet credit requirements. If you do have problems with timing, or with attendance in particular weeks, please do not hesitate to contact the Internship Coordinator as soon as possible; we will try to work out a mutually acceptable solution.
Daily hours are 9 am to 5 pm, with lunch and tea breaks. Again, if other commitments require you to vary these hours please discuss it with us and we will accommodate your needs wherever possible. Field trip days may be considerably longer: 7 am starts and 8.30 pm returns are possible. .

Work patterns

Interns will attend the main training sessions as a group; these sessions will be a mixture of seminars and hands-on practicals. At other times, and for most routine work, you will work in small teams, each team working to a staff member on specific tasks.
Teams will be allocated to various areas of work. Essentially similar work will be done in each area, and the general training sessions will ensure some background knowledge and skills in each area for all participants.

Credit arrangements

Interns who are eligible and wish to gain course credits for their participation in the Program must arrange this with their institution. We will provide supporting documentation if needed. Please note that if your institution requires a project as part of the outcome from the placement this will be written up substantially in your own time. Where possible we will allocate work that is at least partly relevant to your chosen project, but this cannot be guaranteed. Your visiting rights to the Herbarium and the ANBG and CPBR Libraries may be extended beyond the end of the Program, and we will be happy to assist in projects with information and advice.

Program outcomes

The Program endeavours to impart, through a combination of theoretical and practical work, a range of knowledge and skills that will benefit interns in their future employment. On completion of the Program all participants will receive a reference detailing experience and skills gained and tasks performed. Later needs for more job-specific references can also be met. Course evaluation forms will be provided for you to register your opinions near the end of the Program. We welcome your suggestions for improvements at any time.

Contact phone numbers

You may wish to pass on contact numbers to friends and relations. Given that you will be working in different areas at different times on two adjacent sites (ANBG and CSIRO), immediate contact may not always be possible. The best number to give for contact is: Val Oliver CPBR Executive Assistant: (02) 6246 5533; this number also has an answering machine for receipt of messages after opening hours. Faxes can be sent to the CPBR office on (02) 6246 5249 and should be passed on to you on the same day, depending on time of arrival.

Conditions of work

Registered Gardens Volunteers are covered by ComCare insurance while on duty. To ensure you are fully covered during the course of the Internship you will be registered as a volunteer on arrival on 3^rd January.
Most work will be indoors. No special clothing is required for herbarium work except that full-cover shoes must be worn. Lab coats may be required for laboratory sessions; these will be provided and arranged nearer time. Field work sessions do require appropriate clothing - this is listed in your work Program for the first trip.
Staff and volunteers at the Gardens consider each other as colleagues and so entitled to normal mutual respect. Any circumstances (physical or interpersonal) that cause you distress or discomfort should be reported straight away. Health and safety hazards should also be reported to a staff member as soon as noticed.
We look forward to your participation in this scheme, and will attempt to make the training aspects as useful and relevant to the scientific job market as possible. The feedback we have received from past participants has been very positive, in fact some of them now work with us (!), and we trust that you will find the Program equally rewarding.

Bronwyn Collins
SVBIP Coordinator
Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research