Groundskeeper
California State Personnel Board Specification
Definition
Under supervision, to do gardening and general grounds maintenance work; to supervise inmate or patient helpers; may instruct, lead, or supervise inmates, wards, or resident workers; and to do other related work.
Typical Tasks
Plants, cultivates, waters and sprays ornamental plants, shrubs, hedges, trees and flowers, and propagates cuttings; plants and cares for lawns; maintains plants along highways and in semiarid regions; rakes leaves, hoes weeds, and performs general grounds maintenance work; prepares and treats soils for planting and spades and fertilizes flower beds and sets out plants; supervises the work of inmate or patient helpers; keeps greenhouses and other buildings in repair and free from diseases and pests; keeps grounds clean and orderly; maintains hoses, tools, supplies, and equipment in proper condition and repair; trims trees, hedges, and shrubs and erects tree supports; does general laboring tasks related to grounds and garden maintenance work.
Minimum Qualifications
Either I
Six months of experience in the California state service performing the duties of a Service Assistant (Maintenance).
Or II
One year of experience in flower gardening and general grounds maintenance work.
Or III
Successful completion of a formal vocational training program in flower gardening and general grounds maintenance work such as those operated under the Manpower Development Training Act, the Work Incentive Program, or similar programs operated by State, Federal, or local agencies through school districts.
Or IV
Education: Completion of a two-year curriculum in ornamental horticulture or landscape work at the junior college or college level. (Persons registered in the last year of the required curriculum will be admitted to the examination, but must produce evidence of completion of the required education before eligible for appointment.)
Knowledge and Abilities
Knowledge of: Proper methods of planting, cultivating, and caring for hedges, ornamental trees, shrubs, lawns, and flowers; gardening materials, tools, and equipment, and their use and care; approved methods and materials used in controlling and eradicating common plant diseases and inspect pests.
Skill in: Performing miscellaneous gardening and grounds maintenance work.
Ability to: Read and write English at a level required for successful job performance; recognize the more common plant diseases and insect pests and approved methods and materials used in controlling and eradicating them; recognize the more common species of ornamental shrubs, trees, and flowers grown in California; follow oral and written directions; direct the work of inmate or patient helpers.
Special Personal Characteristic
Willingness and ability to do general manual labor.
