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.
Job Summary
The MBGNA summer internship takes place Monday, May 5 to Friday, August 15, 2025. In order to fully participate in team collaboration and project work, selected candidates are expected to complete all dates of the internship. This internship includes some evening and weekend hours.
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.
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:
[email protected]
Responsibilities*
This internship position is part of the Education department team at MBGNA. This internship is focused on K-12 environmental and place based education across MBGNA sites and collections. As part of the Education team, this position will regularly interact with K-12 youth, teachers, visitors, volunteers, and other MBGNA departments during the course of a workday.
This internship position will support the goals of the Education department through the following:
- Lead K-12 field trips and other youth environmental education and place based learning.
- Develop & implement nature based and sustainability activities for youth.
- Track program participation, create surveys and learn program administration skills.
- Collaborate to create content utilizing data collected and mapped on site, in order to foster connections between people, plants and the planet.
- Promote stewardship and relationship building with the natural world through interactive engagement and experiential learning.
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 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.
- This position requires a background check in order to work with minors according to Children on Campus policy.
- Willingness to work outdoors in all weather conditions.
- Must have a flexible schedule with weekend and evening availability.
Work Schedule
35-40 hours per week, 5 days per week.
Modes of Work
Positions that are eligible for hybrid or mobile/remote work mode are at the discretion of the hiring department. Work agreements are reviewed annually at a minimum and are subject to change at any time, and for any reason, throughout the course of employment. Learn more about the work modes.
Additional Information
Compensation: $15.00/hour
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.
U-M EEO/AA Statement
The University of Michigan is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.