Student Opportunities

Global Center for Species Survival

The Global Center for Species Survival (GCSS) Intern will take on a proactive role assisting with global conservation priorities and projects across varying taxa (mammals, birds, invertebrates, amphibians and reptiles, plants, and fungi) and realms (marine, freshwater). Interns will assist conservation coordinators in supporting the International Union for Conservation of Nature Species Survival Commission (IUCN SSC) specialist groups, with a particular emphasis on conservation planning and action. Interns will help coordinators with urgent conservation needs ranging from coordinating communication strategies to public audiences, conducting research, organizing workshops and meetings, and assisting in capacity building efforts. This is a paid, for credit, internship position available for Spring/Fall semesters. 

Eligibility and Compensation

Paid and/or for-credit position, $14 an hour, ~10 hours a week over the semester. Email resume and cover letter expressing interest and skills brought to the internship

Open to third and fourth year students at Butler University, with majors related to communications, biology, and environmental studies. Availability to work 10 hours/week each semester for the duration of employment. Starting pay is $14 per hour.

How to Apply

1. Prepare your professional resume.
2. Write a cover letter specific to the position. The cover letter should describe why you are applying for the position, your career area(s) of interest, your goal in pursuing the internship (i.e, what you hope to professionally achieve), the academic project you would like to undertake (either from the list provided in the ad or your own idea!), and how this internship will help you develop specific professional skills.
3. Email cover letter, resume, and current academic schedule to the CUES (if you have registered for classes, if not, we will request this information at a later date). Make sure the subject line of your email contains the name of the internship to which you are applying!

You will be contacted to schedule an interview with scientists from the GCSS.

Freewheelin’ Community Bikes

Freewheelin’ Community Bikes is a grassroots non-profit organization that empowers Indianapolis youth and community members with skills and a passion for bikes to create a healthier, more connected Indy. The organization is partnering with the Center for Urban Ecology and Sustainability (CUES) at Butler University to offer a paid and (if desired) for-credit internship that seeks to improve the equitable distribution of bikes to the Indianapolis community, help build knowledge within the Indy youth, and create opportunities to get volunteers, community members and organizations involved in the process. You don’t need to know anything about bikes to contribute to the mission!

Compensation

Paid and/or for-credit position, $14 an hour, ~ 10 hours per week over the semester.

How to Apply

1. Prepare your professional resume.
2. Write a cover letter specific to the position. The cover letter should describe why you are applying for the position, your career area(s) of interest, your goal in pursuing the internship (i.e, what you hope to professionally achieve), the academic project you would like to undertake (either from the list provided in the ad or your own idea!), and how this internship will help you develop specific professional skills.
3. Email cover letter, resume, and current academic schedule to the CUES (if you have registered for classes, if not, we will request this information at a later date). Make sure the subject line of your email contains the name of the internship to which you are applying!

The Farm at Butler Internship

Come join the Farm at Butler team!  The Farm is located on West Campus south of the I-Lot and produces a ton of delicious fruits and veggies for use by Butler Dining–and it does so in a context of ecological enrichment.  Farm assistants will get their hands dirty across a wide range of farm tasks including harvest and packing, weeding, soil amending, and various other farm tasks.  Enjoy Fall outdoors and learn about ecologically-focused food production as you work.​

Compensation

Paid and/or for-credit position, $12 an hour, ~ 10 hours per week over the semester.

How to Apply

1. Prepare your professional resume.
2. Write a cover letter specific to the position. The cover letter should describe why you are applying for the position, your career area(s) of interest, your goal in pursuing the internship (i.e, what you hope to professionally achieve), the academic project you would like to undertake (either from the list provided in the ad or your own idea!), and how this internship will help you develop specific professional skills.
3. Email cover letter, resume, and current academic schedule to the CUES (if you have registered for classes, if not, we will request this information at a later date). Make sure the subject line of your email contains the name of the internship to which you are applying!

Eligibility

For-credit internships are generally open to third- and fourth-year Butler university students. We currently do not offer internships to first-year students and, rarely, to second-year students. First- and second-year students interested in getting involved with the CUES, should contact us to inquire about volunteer opportunities. Volunteering is a great way to establish a relationship with the CUES team in preparation for a future internship opportunity. Our for-credit internships are typically BIO, ENV, STS, CCOM, and ED credits however, we can work with your home department to try and offer other credit types. Internship credits are typically 3 credit hours (126 hours throughout the semester) and independent study credits can range anywhere from 1-3 credit hours.

How to Apply

1. Prepare your professional resume.
2. Write a cover letter specific to the position. The cover letter should describe why you are applying for the position, your career area(s) of interest, your goal in pursuing the internship (i.e, what you hope to professionally achieve), the academic project you would like to undertake (either from the list provided in the ad or your own idea!), and how this internship will help you develop specific professional skills.
3. Download your academic schedule for the relevant internship semester (if  you have not finalized your class schedule, we will request this information at a later date).
4. Email your application materials to the CUES. Make sure the subject line of your email contains the name of the internship to which you are applying!

You will be contacted to schedule an interview by a CUES staff member.

CUES Internships: For-Credit, Unpaid

The Farm at Butler

The Farm is a one-acre sustainable agriculture project on the Butler campus that promotes excellence in education to the campus and community while serving as an example of sustainable urban agriculture through the exploration of local food production and sales. The Farm offers 3-credit hour internships.

Time Commitment: The intern will work three hours per week on an academic project and six hours per week in farm operations for at least 126 hours a semester. Farm labor will enable the student to learn more about all aspects of farm operations to improve their individual project outcomes.

Academic requirements: Weekly cohort meetings with all CUES interns, workplan, social media posts about project, experience reflections, and final portfolio of project outcomes.

Labor requirements: Commitment to designated schedule, willingness to work hard physically in all types of weather, and capacity for detail-oriented tasks and creative problem solving.

While available projects vary from semester-to-semester, here are a few we are currently offering:

• Irvington Demonstration Garden Intern – The CUES is looking for students interested in local food, agriculture, and/or agroecology to work on a campus food project, the Irvington Demonstration Garden. The Demo Garden serves as a small model of The Farm outside of the Irvington residence hall on main campus, providing a highly visible tie into the larger campus food system. This internship maintains the plantings within the demo garden and develops educational classes/events to engage students in gardening while connecting back to The Farm.
• Bon Appetit Partnership Farm Intern – The Farm at Butler is looking for students interested in local food, agriculture, and/or agroecology to work on The Farm and a food project highlighting the collaboration with Bon Appetit. Projects vary each semester and include: promoting local food, benefits of organic food, composting, farm-to-fork, etc.
• Community Event Farm Intern – The Farm at Butler is looking for students interested in local food, agriculture, and/or agroecology to work on The Farm and develop a food-related event celebrating The Farm. This event can be themed as desired by the intern and focus on building connection to the farm with Butler students, faculty, and staff.

Sustainability

Sustainability is a wide and deep practice with overlapping concerns in equity, the environment, and the economy. Student sustainability intern(s) will learn the complexity and interconnectivity of sustainability while progressing sustainability on campus. Multiple sustainability internship positions are available each semester.

Time Commitment: Depending on credit type, interns will work at least 126 hours (8-10 hours/week) on a sustainability project throughout the semester. At least half of these hours will be in the CUES office.

Academic requirements: Weekly cohort meetings with all CUES interns, workplan, social media posts about project, experience reflections, and final portfolio of project outcomes.

Sustainability Intern(s) (STS, ENV, A+D, 3 cr.) – Sustainability interns work on a variety of campus related projects to help Butler become more sustainable. Based on specific campus sustainability needs, topic areas for internships include: the built environment, food systems, zero waste, ecological systems, and social change. Interns will discuss specific project opportunities with the Assistant Director of CUES. Fall 2023 projects include:

• Campus Sustainability Tour Internship: Butler University has achieved many successes in sustainable infrastructure on campus, yet most of these innovations are not well marketed. The CUES is looking for an intern to identify the sustainability features on campus and develop a tour that leads our campus community and visitors through campus to see these key features.
• Irvington Garden Internship: The CUES is looking for students interested in local food, agriculture, and/or agroecology to work on a campus food project, the Irvington Demonstration Garden. The Demo Garden serves as a small model of The Farm outside of the Irvington residence hall on main campus, providing a highly visible tie into the larger campus food system. This internship maintains the plantings within the demo garden and develops educational classes/events to engage students in gardening while connecting back to The Farm.
• Sustainability Programming Internship: The CUES is looking for a student to coordinate and recruit participation in the Green Grad and Green Office programs on campus as well as assist in planning campus events for Sustainability Month. The Green Grad program is for Butler undergrads to become sustainability champions on campus and earn a green cord for graduation. The Green Office program helps campus departments in making sustainability commitments and earning recognition for sustainability efforts.
• Green Living Guide Internship: This internship focuses on connecting students to resources and information about sustainability on campus through the development of a green living guide. This guide will highlight ways students can incorporate sustainability into their lives while at Butler including food, transportation, waste minimization, student groups, and more. The intern will continue the development of the green guide and will develop a plan to distribute the resource to students on campus. A second guide may also be developed, specifically for Butler employees.
• We also accept project ideas from interested students.

Sustainability Media & Communication Intern(s) (CCOM, 3cr) – The CUES is looking for a Communications major to assist in the development of a marketing campaign to highlight student intern research. This intern will collaborate with all other CUES interns to create videos for social media including scheduling, filming, and editing. This intern is an essential component of promoting student research and sustainability awareness on Butler’s campus.

Urban Ecology Research

*Unless otherwise noted, please apply using the above instructions provided.

Bird Window Strike Research Internship (BI401-403, ENV411, 1-3 cr.) – The CUES is looking for students to assist with research on bird window strike casualties on campus. The intern will be responsible for conducting a literature review on bird window strike research and conducting laboratory experiments on bird biomechanics, assessing the impact of environmental factors on the likelihood of bird collision death, and/or collecting physical specimens during the spring migration. Time Commitment: The intern will work a total of 42-126 hours on the project, depending on number of credits, throughout the semester. Weekly hours will vary depending on the timing of the spring or fall migration periods. Generally, students will be expected to work fewer hours per week throughout the semester and 15 hours/week during the migration period to collect field specimens and perform data entry. Academic requirements: Students are expected to work with the academic internship supervisor to develop a project, attend regular check-ins, write a final research paper, and present their findings as a poster or oral presentation during finals week or create a video for social media.  If interested, contact Dr. Shelley Etnier.

Plant Phenology Intern (BI490 or ENV411 3 cr.) – The CUES is looking for a student interested in establishing a plant phenology trail and monitoring protocol for Butler’s campus that will be used by Butler classes and internships to assess seasonal changes in plant leafing, fruiting and flowering. The protocol will be used to collect data as part of the Indiana Phenology Network and the USA National Phenology Network that monitors seasonal plant changes to understand how population changes in leafing, flowering, and fruiting may shift as a result of climate change. The intern will research tree species on the National Phenology Network database, specimens in the Friesner Herbarium, and campus tree species from an existing inventory to determine common species that can also be monitored for a comparison of various geographic regions and historical time periods. Time Commitment: The intern will work 8-9 hours per week for a total of 126 hours. Academic requirements: Students are expected to work with the academic internship supervisor to develop a work plan and sign an internship contract, attend regular intern cohort meetings, create a portfolio of final products, and present their project through various social media assignments. Labor requirements: Commitment to the job schedule, willingness to walk through campus and determine ideal tree/plant specimens for monitoring, capacity for detail-oriented tasks and creative problem solving, and time management skills.

Sustainable Agriculture in Urban Systems of Indy (Biology/STES, 1-3 cr.) – The intern will work with Dr. Sean Berthrong to sample and analyze soils from Indianapolis urban agriculture projects for biophysical and nutrient parameters. Contact Dr. Berthrong if interested.

Indy Wildlife Watch (Biology/STES, 1-3 cr.) – THIRD AND FOURTH YEAR STUDENTS ONLY! The intern will work with faculty to prepare urban wildlife field monitoring equipment for deployment at 50 sites in Indianapolis. Students will help with database management and photo analysis. There is also an opportunity for the student to pursue an independent research project. The intern is expected to work 9 hours/week and must have two 4-5 hour block of time in their academic schedule for fieldwork.

Community Internships*

*Note: Federal Work Study eligible applicants are preferred, but not required for our Community internships. 

Touba Gardens (BIO, ENV, STS, CCOM, and ED) – Touba Gardens Farm to Table is looking for an intern to help us network from various perspectives; increase our online appearance, reach out to potential partners in creating volunteer opportunities, and connecting with other farmers to buy wholesale produce. Also, work alongside us in creating a place for our very own farmers market. We hope to design a space that incorporates the artistic talents from local youth, teens and young adults. The intern will help organize opportunities for artists to express their interest by publicly displaying their work.

Kheprw Institute Internship – The Kheprw Institute seeks to empower the community through self-mastery for positive community and world change. Looking for students to identify best practices, case studies, etc. of how urban farming and community building can best be executed on their newly purchased 17-acre property, Octavia’s Visionary Campus (OVC), on the southside of Indy. The intern will assist the OVC manager in establishing internal systems for volunteer recruitment and retention including compiling and maintaining a list of work projects suitable for volunteers. The intern will also create a public survey to engage with neighbors and other interested parties to collect and analyze data and report on community priorities. They are seeking a student with data collection and analysis skills, critical thinking skills, an ability to self-manage, good interpersonal communication skills, a willingness to work in a hybrid work environment, and ability to take direction and to work collaboratively.

Freewheelin’ Community Bikes (paid) – Freewheelin’ Community Bikes is a grassroots non-profit organization that empowers Indianapolis youth and community members with skills and a passion for bikes to create a healthier, more connected Indy. The organization is partnering with the Center for Urban Ecology and Sustainability (CUES) at Butler University to offer a paid and (if desired) for-credit internship that seeks to improve the equitable distribution of bikes to the Indianapolis community, help build knowledge within the Indy youth, and create opportunities to get volunteers, community members and organizations involved in the process. You don’t need to know anything about bikes to contribute to the mission!

1. Water Policy Research Assistant (Ecosystem Focus) – Conduct research on headwater ecosystems and prepare a 1-2 page summary on the benefits
2. Water Policy Research Assistant (Green Infrastructure Focus) – Conduct research on green infrastructure and low impact development regulations to support HEC’s watchdogging work in the Upper White River watershed/central Indiana.
3. Water Policy Research Assistant (Economic Focus) – Conduct research on the economic benefits of wetlands.
4. Water Policy Research Assistant (Water Quality Focus) – Write a 1-2 page executive summary on Indiana’s 2022 Integrated Water Monitoring and Assessment Report for internal use by the organization and possibly a wider audience.
5. Water Policy Research Assistant (Local Development Focus) – Conduct research on local development regulations to support HEC’s watchdogging work in the Upper White River watershed/central Indiana.

Paid, non-credit

Farm Summer Positions – The Farm at Butler is seeking to fill two part-time summer labor positions from the last week of April through the end of August. We are looking for motivated and committed interns to take part in the operation and maintenance of the CUE Farm including: soil preparation, planting, weeding and cultivating, harvesting, preparing for market sales, running the farm stand, and leading tours of The Farm. Job requirements: Ability to work an average of 20 hours/week, commitment to the job schedule, willingness to work hard physically in all types of weather, and capacity for detail-oriented tasks and creative problem solving.

To apply, please email a resume and detailed cover letter to the Center for Urban Ecology and Sustainability (CUES), cue@butler.edu.

The CUES almost always has volunteer opportunities available, both once-off and of more regular frequency.

Bird Window Strike Project – Volunteers are needed to help the CUES survey for bird carcasses around campus buildings during the fall (mid-September through mid-October) and spring (mid-April through mid-May) migration periods. Each day’s sampling takes 1–2 hours and is conducted between 2:00–5:00 PM. If you are interested in volunteering for a few days each week, please contact the CUES.

Indy Wildlife Watch – Volunteers are needed to assist with tagging animal species present in photos collected at 50 sites in Indianapolis via motion-triggered cameras. Volunteers will be trained and asked to attend regular meetings, but photo analysis can occur at any time making this opportunity great for students will full schedules. If interested, please contact the CUES.

Hoosier Riverwatch Water Quality Monitoring – Volunteers are needed to assist in the collection water chemistry, macroinvertebrate, and flow data as well as assessing habitat quality at two stream sites in Indianapolis. No scientific experience necessary. If interested, please contact the CUES.

Reconnecting to Our Waterways (ROW) – ROW, a group that seeks to improve Indianapolis’ waterways, regularly seeks volunteers for once-off events and more regular assistance. Please contact ROW metrics coordinator, Kelly Brown, for current opportunities.

The Farm at Butler Labor Volunteer –The Farm at Butler, a one-acre sustainable agriculture project on Butler’s campus, is seeking students who would like to learn more about sustainable agriculture by assisting with farm labor. Students are expected to commit to an entire semester and volunteer regularly scheduled hours each week. The number of weekly hours can be determined by the student. If interested, please contact the CUES.

Touba Gardens  – Touba Gardens is a local farm committed to growing local, affordable, and healthy food. They seek volunteers to help network from various perspectives: increasing our online appearance, reaching out to potential partners in creating volunteer opportunities, and connecting with other farmers to buy wholesale produce. Volunteers may also opt to help with farm labor or work to create a farmers market location that incorporates the artistic talents from local youth, teens and young adults.

To increase the educational impact of CUES internship projects and train interns in professional communication skills for the future, CUES students develop social media content describing their project and why it is important to Butler and the community.

SEE PROJECTS ON FACEBOOK