Our Mission

To reconnect people with nature and to steward the health of our local environment by installing and maintaining landscapes which, thoughtfully designed using native plant species, promote biodiversity and provide essential ecosystem services.

The Role

You will be installing and managing ecology-focused landscapes that are typically composed of native plants. Some of these landscape types include perennial/pollinator gardens, rain gardens, shorelines, alternative lawns, woodland plantings, and natural areas. We mostly work with residential homeowners but we occasionally work with commercial entities and municipalities as well. As the landscaping division of New Leaf Natives plant nursery, we are headquartered at the nursery and use our high-quality, in-house native plant material for all of our projects.

This is a physically intensive manual labor job which will require you to use hand tools and power tools every day, often in uncomfortably hot or cold weather conditions. You will occasionally be required to move heavy objects such as boulders and trees, and you will be consistently required to perform repetitive physical activities such as kneeling, bending, raking, and digging with a shovel.

You may occasionally use herbicide as a management tool. You may use power tools such as chain saws and brush saws, and heavy machinery such as skid steers and wood chippers. You will be provided training and PPE for the use of these various tools.

We pride ourselves on having a friendly, positive, and intellectually stimulating workplace environment. While the crew leader is primarily responsible for on-site client communication, clients and passersby frequently stop and talk to the crew members as well. Therefore, you are required to have a friendly disposition as well as clear and effective communication skills. You should be able to communicate our mission and the specific goals of the project you are working on to curious passersby.

You will be working closely with the same crew every day and therefore will need to work as a team player. Ideally, you should also be self-directed such that when you finish one task on a job you already have a sense of what to start working on next, and can confidently move on knowing that you completed the task correctly. While our crew leader will direct the crew’s workflow and answer any specific questions you have, we strongly value a collaborative work environment and you will always be encouraged to provide your input on projects.

Because we landscape through an ecological lens, it is helpful to have some knowledge of biology, ecology, botany, and native and nonnative plant identification. However, this is not a requirement and we find that crew members generally learn an incredible amount of information through this job when they engage and apply themselves.

Time Frame

Our season generally runs April-October, with work tapering off throughout November depending on weather. Work days are Monday-Friday. You will never be required to work on the weekend.

We aim to schedule roughly 40 hour work weeks, with four 8-12 hour days depending on weather and project needs. This format gives us some amount of flexibility around rain days. When there are multiple rain days in a work week, there is some amount of tool maintenance and nursery work available, but 40 hour work weeks are not guaranteed.

We typically begin each day at the nursery at 8am preparing for the current project. The crew generally drives to the work site together in a company vehicle, and returns when the project is finished, or at a reasonable stopping point for multi-day projects. Depending on the project, you may be able to drive to the site separately if you prefer.

We have a 30 minute paid lunch break.

We offer up to one week of unpaid vacation time. We require at least two weeks of notice for vacations.

Requirements

• Able to stand, bend, and kneel for extended durations
• Able to lift 50 pounds
• Positive attitude, team player, self-directed
• Effective communication skills
• Attention to detail
• Integrity and strong work ethic; we want you to want to feel proud of the work you do
• Reliable transportation

Preferred but not required

• Knowledge of biology, ecology, botany, and native and nonnative plant identification
• Knowledge of horticultural techniques such as pruning
• Knowledge of landscape design principles
• Experience landscaping in any capacity
• Experience using and maintaining chainsaws, brush saws, and string trimmers
• Experience using skid steers, wood chippers, and other heavy machinery
• Experience driving a truck and trailer
• Commercial herbicide applicator license
• Experience on prescribed burns
• We are working to develop a natural hardscaping division. We would like to find a crew member who has experience with installing natural stone paths, steps, patios, retaining walls and more to help develop this aspect of our business.

About Us

New Leaf Natives is a plant nursery specializing in 300+ native species grown from seed to help restore the ecological balance of the Great Lakes region and beyond. We serve both wholesale and retail customers through convenient local pick-up and reliable mail-order shipping. As an appointment-only nursery, we focus on quality rooted plants, offering plants in 38-cell plug trays or individual 3-inch pots, ready for installation.

Our landscaping division serves Washtenaw County and surrounding areas in southeastern Michigan, providing ecological consulting, creative landscape designs, professional installations, and ongoing maintenance to ensure native landscapes thrive.

We are a growing small business with exciting opportunities on the horizon, and we’re looking for a team member who is passionate, knowledgeable, and committed to helping us continue to grow.

WWW.NEWLEAFNATIVES.COM 

Job Type: Full-time

Work Location: In person