Training or Internship

Start Date: March 2027
Training Duration: 12 weeks – 18 months
Hours: 40 hours per week
Compensation:$17.50 per hour
Housing: on-site, cost-free housing
Number of Positions Offered: 1

The host company is a family-owned wholesale nursery specializing in propagation and production of woody plant liners, flowering shrubs, evergreens, vines, and small trees. Their greenhouses, stock, and research facilities supply growers throughout North America. Participants can enjoy the lakeside town of Grand Haven, Michigan by exploring Lakeshore Trails, viewing the Musical Fountain, and enjoy outdoor activities like fishing, paddling, and cruising on Lake Michigan.

• Perform weekly scouting (visual and using dissecting microscopes) of crops to monitor for unwanted pests or diseases (foliar nematodes, thrips, two-spotted spider mites, etc.)
• Evaluate pest-tracking tools such as yellow sticky cards and pheromone traps
• Organize and mix biological organisms that arrive on a weekly basis
• Apply biological organisms to pre-determined target sites
• Maintain and update physical inventory of plant liners/trays/pots across departments
• Monitor liner and container soil water levels during extended periods of high temperatures
• Perform analytical tests (pH, EC levels, Chlorine concentration, etc)
• Collect plant tissue samples for further analysis at off-site laboratories
• Track movement and survival rate of plants that move between production departments
• Assist in daily record keeping of greenhouse crew labor hours
• To apply for the Internship program, applicants must be plant science or related field undergraduate/graduate students OR be recent graduates who begin program within 12 months of the graduation date.
• To apply for the Trainee program, applicants must have either a degree or professional certificate from a foreign post-secondary academic institution and at least 1 year of prior related work experience in the plant science or related field acquired outside the United States OR 5+ years of experience in this field.
• Must be dependable, hardworking, and able to lift, carry, or move at least 30 pounds.
• Skilled with computer systems (inventory tracking databases, Excel, and Word)
• Spanish-speaking applicants highly preferred