(Indigenous Foodways 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 (272215)

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 access and impact 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.

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 full-time summer position that extends part-time into fall with Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum and the Campus Farm at MBGNA in collaboration with Indigenous community partners. This position will work with Campus Farm staff, MBGNA curatorial staff, and Indigenous community partners  The internship includes preparation, planting, and care of the Indigenous Collaborative Garden (ICG) located at Matthaei Botanical Gardens along with other possible sites under Indigenous community partner leadership and guidance. Additionally, the position will work and engage more broadly with the development and implementation of Indigenous foodways efforts at MBGNA/U-M in collaboration with Indigenous partners and the Native American Student Association. The balance of the position’s time will be spent as part of the Campus Farm team growing food for students, by students for use at Farmstand, Maize and Blue Cupboard, Campus Dining and beyond. In addition to full-time summer employment, the position continues part-time through the end of the 2026 growing season and the harvest feast during the fall semester.  Potential to start the position part time in late-March 2026 also exists to engage in planning work for interested candidates.

The position is primarily Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm (Monday, May 4 to Friday, August 28, 2026) with some weekends and evenings required.  Must include some availability part time through the fall semester 2026. 

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 access and impact across lands, waters, and dynamic systems

As part of a learning community, interns will be expected to:

• Attend a group orientation at the beginning of the summer
• Participate in professional development sessions offered throughout the summer
• Engage in opportunities for assessment and reflection
• Attend a final celebration at the end of the summer

Responsibilities

This internship will support MBGNA and our Indigenous partners in co-creating co-liberatory futures through the advancement of Indigenous foodways in collaboration with individuals, groups,  units, and organizations inside and outside of UM while developing skills in sustainable food production in conjunction with the UM Campus Farm team. 

• Work collaboratively as part of a broader set of nested teams and objectives to build connections, programming, engagement, and impact around Indigenous foodways projects. 
• Engage in program development and community organizing work with Indigenous partners and MBGNA to advance shared objectives. 
• Plan and host with Curator, Indigenous Partners, Campus Farm Program Managers, the Indigenous Collaborative Garden (ICG) planting ceremony and harvest feast.
• Maintain precise records and documentation of work. 
• Prepare ICG (and other possible sites as identified) for planting and provide weekly care for plants, including watering, weeding, trellising, as well as postseason clean up as guided by Indigenous collaborators with support from Campus Farm. 
• Work as part of the Campus Farm student team on food growing tasks, including transplant seeding, planting, weeding, watering, harvesting, etc. of Campus Farm crops grown for campus focused on increasing  knowledge, skills in sustainable food production over the course of the summer.
• Estimate of duties: ~60% Indigenous Food Ways, ~40% Campus Farm

Required Qualifications 

• 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 2025 or are planning to earn a degree by May 2026 are eligible to apply. 
• Prior engagement or interest with social justice work and/or food sovereignty and/or Indigenous foodways
• Ability and willingness to work in an inclusive and team-oriented way with diverse audiences, partner organizations, people, and programs.
• Applicants should expect physical and at times strenuous work, being outdoors in a wide range of weather conditions and the enjoyment of harvesting the physical and metaphorical fruits (and vegetables) of their labor. 
• Must have a flexible schedule with occasional weekend and evening availability.
• Ability to be (re)trained to garden by cultural protocols
• This position may require a valid driver’s license and a motor vehicle record check in order to operate MBGNA vehicles.
• Availability to continue on part time through the harvest feast fall term 2026.