Job Description

Job Summary

Why Cheekwood?

Working at Cheekwood Estate & Gardens offers you the opportunity to work for one of the most beautiful places in Nashville. Formerly the home of Mabel and Leslie Cheek, Cheekwood now serves the public as a botanical garden, arboretum, and museum with period rooms and art galleries. At Cheekwood, you will have the opportunity to explore a wide range of roles tailored to your skills and interests. Whether you are passionate about horticulture, art curation, historical preservation, or one of our many other career opportunities, you would have the chance to thrive and make a meaningful impact here. Working in such a place that cherishes its rich history, vibrant art scene, and serene gardens offers a unique blend of fulfillment and inspiration. You will find yourself in a supportive environment where every day brings new opportunities for personal and professional growth, amidst the backdrop of picturesque settings.

What does the Cheekwood Education Team do and why join?

At Cheekwood, the goal of the Education Department is to enrich the experiences of our visitors, members, and class participants. Their primary focus is to foster learning opportunities that blend the natural beauty of our gardens with the historical and artistic aspects of the museum. Members of the Education Department create engaging programs and workshops that explore themes of horticulture and art, aiming to inspire curiosity and appreciation for the natural world and human creativity. By joining the Education Department at Cheekwood, individuals can immerse themselves in a dynamic environment where they play a vital role in engaging learning experiences. Whether leading guided tours, organizing hands-on workshops, or developing educational materials, team members have the chance to make a meaningful impact on visitors’ understanding and appreciation of the intersection between nature and culture.

What will you be doing?

This position entails an oversight of the GROWS garden’s facilities, from maintaining storage and the greenhouse to managing all equipment, ensuring the space is always prepared for scheduled activities. Responsibilities extend to designing and teaching interactive garden and cooking lessons, running weekly programming for young children, and collaborating with the team on various educational programs and administrative tasks like booking and school trips.

Job Responsibilities

Essential Functions & Responsibilities

Gardens

• Maintain the education garden, storage areas, compost, greenhouse, and keep all related equipment organized.
• Ensure that the garden is prepared for programming.
• Carry out daily visits to the garden and greenhouse to maintain plants, oversee compost and irrigation, and stay current with pest management.
• Record a detailed plan to ensure plants are planted and harvested at the right time throughout the seasons including ordering seeds, starting seeds in the greenhouse, and transplanting to the garden.
• Keep an up-to-date garden log to record how the garden and specific plants are doing.

Programming

• Develop hands-on garden curriculum and activities for program participants pre-k through middle school for Cheekwood GROWS and additional school groups alongside the School & Outreach Programs Manager.
• Run garden-based lessons in the education garden with the ability to adapt to weather.
• Prepare for lessons by organizing materials and communicating with partner schools, including the break down and cleanup of materials after the program, and post-visit follow up with schools.
• Coordinate with others in the department when scheduling programs in the GROWS garden.
• Teach garden programs and cooking programs for Summer Camp.
• Facilitate weekly Tots drop-in programming in the Cheekwood GROWS Garden.
• Facilitate afterschool gardening clubs with partner schools as neccessary.
• Work collaboratively with the Adult Education Manager to produce seasonally appropriate content for the Cheekwood Gardening School and instruct classes.
• Work collaboratively with the Gardens Department on any garden or pest/disease questions.
• Keep an accurate and up to date calendar with all programs using the GROWS garden.
• Assist with booking school group field trips.
• Lead garden-based lessons for STEAM Passport schools.
• Demonstrate cross-cultural competency when communicating with partner schools, students, and families.

Other

• Responsible for managing the budget and ordering supplies needed to maintain the garden and run programs.
• Create volunteer opportunities for maintaining the GROWS garden.
• Assist with departmental activities, programs, and special events.

Qualifications

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in education or science, Environmental Education, or similar; or equivalent years of education and experience.
• Knowledge of vegetable and flower gardening with a willingness to learn and improve garden maintenance skills. Knowledge of outdoor garden education practices. Strong ability to work with groups of kids in an outdoor setting. Organization and communication skills, and excellent public speaking skills. Ability to work outdoors and participate in physical labor. Must have the ability to be flexible. Must be a team player.
• Experience in either environmental education or horticulture. Experience working and teaching in classroom or outdoor settings. Experience maintaining a garden preferred. Experience working with elementary aged students preferred.
• Telephone, computer

Additional Information

Benefits

Benefits

The well-being of Cheekwood employees is essential. So, when it comes to our benefits package, we offer one of the best. We offer the following benefits to all full-time employees:

• Health Insurance with an HRA
• Dental
• Vision
• Life Insurance (100% paid by Cheekwood)
• Long Term Disability Insurance (100% paid by Cheekwood)
• Voluntary Life Insurance
• Short Term Disability Insurance
• 403b and Roth 403b with a generous employer match
• Employee Assistance Program
• Paid Time Off and 11 Paid Holidays
• Aflac products are offered.

How to Apply

Please submit your cover letter and resume on our Join Our Team page at Join Our Team | Cheekwood Estate & Gardens.

Details

• Date Posted: July 24, 2025
• Type: Full-Time
• Job Function: Educator
• Service Area: Arts / Culture

Job Tags

Similar Jobs