Miles Sax
Horticultural Apprentice
125 Arborway
Boston, MA 02130
Phone: 617.524.1718
Fax: 617.524.1418
Email
Education
BS Environmental Conservation (2008), University of New Hampshire
Accredited Organic Land Care Professional (AOLCP) NOFA
In my role as horticultural apprentice, I have been working with the historically significant Malus (crabapple) collection located on Peters Hill at the Arnold Arboretum. The collection features a wide variety of plant material, focusing primarily on early cultivars and plants of known wild origin. Called the “mother arboretum” for crabapples, the Arboretum has introduced many members of the genus to science, horticulture, and North America. My work encompasses horticultural care of the collection as well as curatorial review, fruit and flower taxonomic verification, recommendations for collection additions, and the formation of a comprehensive management plan.
My duties have also involved participation in public outreach and education. This has been accomplished through tours and interpretation for the public and as the leader and mentor for ten Norfolk County Agricultural High School interns. Additionally, my research has involved collaboration with other arboreta, botanic gardens, horticulturalists, experts, and scientists. My progress is overseen by an advisory committee comprised of the manager of horticulture, the curator of living collections, and the greenhouse and nursery manager.
My previous employment includes participating in the Arnold Arboretum Hunnewell Internship Program (2010), and serving as a botany intern for the Bureau of Land Management in Oregon (2009), which included collecting wild germplasm for the Millennium Seed Bank in association with Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. As a student at the University of New Hampshire, I worked as farm manager of the organic garden (2006-2008) and in the Horticultural Research Greenhouse (2008).
My passion for working with plants has developed through a lifelong exploration of the natural world and a pursuit to live in balance with it. I attempt to take a whole systems approach to my work and follow best available organic principles and practices. When I’m not working or communing with plants, I enjoy live music in Boston, touring on my road bike, or exploring New England’s backcountry on skis.
Sax, Miles. 2011 A Year With the Apples of the Arnold Arboretum. Arnoldia 69(2): 29. [pdf]
Sax, Miles. 2011 The Family Tree: Prunus ‘Hally Jolivette’. Arnoldia 68(3): 6. [pdf]
Link to Malus articles featured in a recent issue of Arnoldia.