Campus Farm Intern

All applicants should apply using the University of Michigan Careers website, eRecruit. Read below for instructions on how to apply"

Please note your Job Opening ID is 258656

1. Go to https://careers.umich.edu/ 

2. Under Job Search, enter the Job Opening ID or the Job Title in the Keyword box. 

3. Click on the Job Posting. Click on Apply Now at the top of the job posting. .

4. You are now in the standard application. Answer all questions and proceed through the application process as prompted. 

5. Click Submit when you are through.

How to Apply
Applications are welcomed and encouraged from all qualified individuals regardless of background and identity. A one-page cover letter is required for consideration for this position and should be attached as the first page of your resume in a single pdf file. The cover letter should address your specific interest in the position and outline skills and experiences that directly relate to it. 

Who We Are
Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum (MBGNA) is a transformative force for social and ecological resilience through the waters and lands we steward. 

We turn this commitment into action by:

• Positioning humans as active participants within the natural world and compelling the university community and our publics to negotiate the full complexity that entails
• Advancing partnerships, programs, user experience, and all that we steward to catalyze equity and justice in a radically changing world
• Emerging as University of Michigan’s premier partner for research, teaching, and public impact in sustainability, climate-forward practices, and biocultural diversity
• Promoting healthier communities, cultures, and ecosystems through active care and cultivation of the gardens, fields, natural habitats, and dynamic systems that sustain our world.

MBGNA seeks to recruit and retain a diverse workforce as a reflection of our commitments to serve the diverse people of Michigan and sustain the excellence of the University of Michigan.

For more information about MBGNA and the summer internship program, please visit: https://mbgna.umich.edu/summer-internships 

For questions about the internship application, please contact:
MBGNAinternships@umich.edu 

Job Summary
This is a student summer internship position with the Campus Farm at Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum. The Campus Farm is a student-driven, multi-stakeholder, living-learning lab for sustainable food systems work on campus. The farm is dedicated to the ecological production of food, on-farm carbon neutrality, and food justice centered around food grown by students for students. Produce grown on the farm goes to dining halls on campus, UM Farm Stand, Maize and Blue Cupboard food pantry, and other food access programs in the community. The Campus Farm summer internship takes place Monday, May 5 to Friday, August 22, 2025.  In order to fully participate in team collaboration and project work, selected candidates are expected to complete all dates of the internship. Occasional evening and weekend work may be required.

Learning Objectives

• The MBGNA summer internship provides university-level students with opportunities to:
• Participate in experiential learning in a nature-based organization
• Directly contribute to strategic operations of a mission-driven organization
• Help unify and catalyze equity and justice across lands, waters, and dynamic systems

Application Deadline
The MBGNA internship application will be open Wednesday, January 15 - Sunday, March 2, 2025.  Applications will be reviewed after the internship application closes.  Selected candidates will be contacted for interviews beginning Monday, March 10, 2025.  Final candidates will be notified by March 31, 2025.

• Applicants must have one year of experience enrolled in a college or university by the internship start date. Recent college graduates who earned a degree in December 2024 or are planning to earn a degree by May 2025 are eligible to apply. 
• This position may require a valid driver’s license and a motor vehicle record check in order to operate MBGNA vehicles.
• Applicants should enjoy physical and at times strenuous work, being outdoors, and reaping the physical and metaphorical fruits (and vegetables) of their labor. 
• Ability and willingness to work in an inclusive and team-oriented way with diverse audiences, partner organizations, and programs involved with the Campus Farm.
• Must have a flexible schedule with occasional weekend and evening availability.
• Potential for continuation part time into fall term exists as do opportunities for possible advancement into student management team roles.

Responsibilities
This internship position is part of the UM Campus Farm at MBGNA. As part of the Campus Farm team, this position will regularly interact with UM students and staff, community partners, and other MBGNA departments during the course of a workday.  

• This internship position will support the goals of the UM Campus Farm through the following: 
• Organic transplant seeding, watering and care
• Crop planting, weeding, irrigation, pest and disease management
• Organic and ecological soil management
• Small farm-equipment and hand tool use and operation
• Harvest, post-harvest handling, food safety, sales and distribution
• Internships will follow a scaffolded structure for increasing  knowledge, skills and management over the course of the summer allowing increased agency over farm management towards the end of the internship.