Indigenous Foodways Intern

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 This is a full time summer position that extends part time into fall with Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum in collaboration with Indigenous community partners and UM Multi-Ethnic and Student Affairs (MESA). This position will work with Campus Farm staff, MBGNA curatorial staff, Indigenous community partners and the MESA assistant director of Native American student enrichment and belonging and Native American Student Association advisor. 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 2025 growing season and the harvest feast during the fall semester. Potential to start the position part time in late-March 2025 also exists to engage in planning work for interested candidates. 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 across lands, waters, and dynamic systems Who We Are Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum 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, 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:

Created: 2025-02-21