Job Title: Native Orchid Conservation Supervisor

Department:  Flora Conservation

Work Location: Lower Displays & Greenhouses (LDGT)

The Organisation

Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden (KFBG) is a nature conservation and education centre that spreads over 148 hectares of land on the northern slopes of Tai Mo Shan, Hong Kong's highest mountain. It lies in a valley, with a stream running down through diverse subtropical forest. You can find theme gardens, greenhouses, vegetable, and fruit terraces, walking trails, and public education displays of plants and animals, whilst the largest part of the estate is managed as a nature reserve. 

Our team consists of educators, ecologists, botanists, zoologists, conservation officers, spatial analysts, veterinarians, geneticists, arborists, horticulturists, gardeners, animal keepers, farmers, communicators and marketeers. Lessons learnt from hundreds of projects and initiatives are used to raise awareness, educate the public and catalyse behaviour change to protect nature and the environment.

With more than half of the century serving Hong Kong, KFBG strives to harmonize humanity’s relationship with nature through 3 core aspects: Nature Conservation, Holistic Education, and Sustainable Living. 

We are looking for a passionate Native Orchid Conservation Supervisor who aligns with our vision and values, to join the organisation, to help making a difference. The role consists of executing the mass propagation of native orchids using micropropagation techniques, overseeing the successful hardening of lab-grown seedlings. The successful applicant will also plan and conduct fieldwork to collect seed pods of rare orchid species and better understand the conditions under which native orchid species thrive; using the seeds collected and knowledge accumulated to supervise staff in the cultivation of healthy seedlings for use in ex-situ conservation, public displays, KFBG’s ecological restoration initiatives, and where possible, species action plans in collaboration with external partners.

For more information, please see www.kfbg.org and www.greenhub.org.  

Major responsibilities

·        To carry out mass propagation of native orchids of Hong Kong, South China and the Indo-Burma region, with a particular focus on rare and endangered species, using established protocols and to endeavour to develop new protocols where appropriate.

·        To assess methods and establish best practice for germination, re-plating, hardening, vegetative propagation (where possible) and nursery cultivation of native orchid species.

·        To keep tidy, clear, accurate and quantitative records of all seed material entering, and all seedlings leaving the laboratory.

·        To plan and carry out field work, undertake hand pollinations and collect mature seed capsules as required for orchid micropropagation. To ensure that adequate data (relating to biological features and provenance, as well as photos, etc.) is recorded for all seed collections, to understand the growing conditions and requirements of native orchid species, to inform site selection for their inclusion in KFBG’s ongoing species conservation and habitat restoration programs.

·        To plan and implement native orchid planting projects for the ecological enhancement of specific parts of KFBG’s site, liaising with other relevant FLO teams to facilitate planting, monitoring and aftercare. To assess the success and influencing factors of these plantings and incorporate the learning to devise progressively more effective and efficient plantings.

·        To work with the Lower Displays & Greenhouses Curator to ensure the highest standards in nursery management for the native orchid conservation collection, including maintenance and development of adequate facilities to enable this goal.

·        To assist in developing and maximizing the benefit of relationships with other botanic gardens and conservation focused organisations, including knowledge sharing and the sourcing and sharing of plant material.

·        To maintain the Orchid Conservation Section micropropagation laboratory to the highest standards of cleanliness and safety.

·        To report progress regularly to the Lower Displays & Greenhouses Curator and Horticultural Manager.

·        To assist in accurate documentation of information associated with all conservation focused accessions in KFBG’s Orchid Nurseries, in liaison with the wider team and the Plant Records Officer. To provide timely reporting of necessary information to AFCD when required.

·        To document findings towards the compilation of technical manuals on orchid conservation practices.

Job Requirements

·        Passionate about native plant diversity and its conservation.

·        A bachelor's degree or equivalent in biology, plant science, ecology, conservation or equivalent in horticulture, and ideally a postgraduate degree in a similar field.

·        A minimum of 2 years' professional experience in a relevant post, ideally with a demonstrable track record in people management.

·        Experience in field identification of orchids in Hong Kong and South China.

·        Experience in the use of databases for handling and processing plant information, including maps, images, herbarium specimens and biological samples is highly desirable.

·        Excellent written and oral communication skills in English and Cantonese.

·        Ideally with a Hong Kong driving license (vehicles classes 1 and/or 2).

·        Ability to work in a dynamic, multi-disciplinary environment.

·        Willing to work occasionally on weekends or public holidays, as needed (compensation leave will be provided).

·        Diligent, detail-oriented, open-minded and recognises the validity of all spiritual paths.

Application Method

Interested parties, please send your CV with current / last salary, expected salary and availability to the People & Culture Department, Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden Corporation, Lam Kam Road, Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong or via email at ••••@kfbg.org