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.

The MBGNA summer internship takes place Monday, May 5 to Friday, September 1, 2025.  In order to fully participate in team collaboration and project work, selected candidates are expected to complete all dates of the internship. This is a student summer internship position with Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum. This position will assist with weddings and other events and work with the Visitor Experience team. This position also serves as the primary point of contact for many of our over 500,000 annual visitors at both the Nichols Arboretum and Matthaei Botanical Gardens. The internship program runs May 6 through September 1, 2025 and includes 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

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 

• 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 frequent travel between MBGNA site locations. 
• Must have a flexible schedule with weekend and evening availability from early May through Labor Day.

40 hours per week

MBGNA comprises 841 total acres, spanning across four sites, including the gardens, arboretum, a bog, and natural areas. This internship will take place at rotating MBGNA sites and locations.

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.

Compensation: $15.00/hour

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.

The University of Michigan is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.