Job Summary

The University of Michigan, Matthaei Botanical Gardens & Nichols Arboretum is looking for one full-time temporary (9 months) Natural Areas Stewardship Technician. You will report to the Natural Areas Manager and will help with the stewardship of the natural areas of our four properties. This position is onsite 40 hours per week, September 2024 - May 2025, Monday through Friday with occasional weekend responsibilities.

Who We Are

University of Michigan's Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum (MBGNA) stewards over 840 acres of land and water across four properties in and around Ann Arbor, with Nichols Arboretum and Matthaei Botanical Gardens serving as its two anchor locations. With more than 500,000 annual visitors, MBGNA is committed to becoming a transformative force for social and ecological resilience through the lands and waters we steward. We put that 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 impact and access 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

Responsibilities*

• Work alone or as part of a team outdoors on our four properties
• Volunteer eco-workday coordination and leadership (occasional weekend work)
• Locate and identify native and exotic invasive plants
• Use GPS/GIS apps and equipment / programs to collect and manage spatial data
• Apply herbicides to control exotic invasive plants
• Operate power equipment and use hand tools including: tractors, mowers, utility vehicles, chainsaws, brush cutters, loppers, handsaws, wood chipper
• Pull, bag, and remove exotic invasive weeds
• Participate in MBGNA prescribed burns
• Collect and process native plant seed, planting plugs and direct sowing

Required Qualifications*

• 1+ years of experience with landscape care, botany, ecology or ecological restoration
• Familiarity with GIS and data collection
• Must be willing to work outdoors in inclement weather, tolerate biting insects, working around poison ivy, rattlesnakes and other challenges of field work
• A State of Michigan Commercial Pesticide Applicator's License or willingness to obtain one and ability to apply herbicides (MBGNA provides study materials and will cover certification expenses)
• A valid Driver's License and ability to pass a motor vehicle record check
• The ability to move and transport up to 40lbs

Compensation: $18.50 per hour

This temporary position may meet eligibility requirements for health care benefits. For more information, please see the eligibility section for temporary employees here.

For more information about Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum, please visit mbgna.umich.edu.

Application Deadline: July 24, 2025