Summer 2023 Student Opportunities MSU Botanical Garden

Hiring Organization: Michigan State University
Employment type: Internship
Job Location: East Lansing
Application Due Date: April 30, 2023

Botanical Garden Assistant

Schedule: M-F 6:30a.m.-3:00p.m.

Help maintain the Botanical Garden while learning about native plants, developing horticultural skills, and maintaining living collections. Position requires physical labor and endurance to handle all weather conditions. Ideal candidates need no prior horticultural knowledge, but do need to proactively work independently and collaboratively, be an active listener, problem solver, openminded, and reliable.

Potential Activities:

Planting, weeding, watering, mulching, pruning
Invasive species removal
Event setup

Education Scholar

Work with Education Director to develop engaging materials for the diverse audiences. Primary focus will be resources for youth and school audiences.

Desired Experience: youth education, program development and implementation, public education

Potential Tasks:

Downloadable educational materials for youth audiences
Design and implement tours and guest experiences
Event tabling

Riverbank Restoration Scholar

Support restoration of the Red Cedar Riverbank directly adjacent to the Botanical Garden.

Desired Experience: Plant identification, invasive species removal, public education

Potential Tasks:

Identify and document plants growing on the riverbank
Collect and mount specimens for the MSU Herbarium
Test and document invasive species removal techniques
Support Public Engagement and Interpretation of restoration efforts
Install native plants

Community Art Scholar

Help bring art into the Botanical Garden by partnering with on campus organization to develop programming, host performances, and support the Garden as a place of inspiration.

Desired Experience: Public education, event planning, community art

Potential Tasks:

Design and implement garden art programs
Coordinate performances in the garden
Support communication team with design

Pollination Biology Scholar

Develop methods to identify pollinator visitation in in the pollinator garden, Endangered/Threatened Plant collection, and along the riverbank (Beal Garden area).

Desired Experience: Basic bee identification

Potential Activities:

Conduct pollinator observations and visited floral resources
Recording phenology of native plants to ensure enough floral resources
Observations on bee nesting habitats
Engaging with public on importance of native plants for pollinators

Invasive Species Scholar

Support invasive species removal and promote native plant diversity along length of Red Cedar River and within the campus natural areas.

Desired Experience: Plant identification, invasive species removal, volunteer training and management

Potential Tasks:

Test and document invasive species removal techniques
Collect and mount specimens for the MSU Herbarium
Identify and map invasive species in natural areas
Talking with the public about invasive plants

Communication & Design Scholar

Spread awareness about the Beal Botanical Garden throughout the campus and broader community by facilitating online engagement and creating informational materials.

Desired Experience: Social media management, graphic design, video editing

Potential Activities: