Employment Opportunities

PAID SUMMER INTERNSHIP

IMAGINE Green Albany Corps: Summer Workforce Development Program

TITLE: Native Plant Nursery Intern ($20.00 - $22.00/hour depending on experience)

HOURS: 200 hour summer internship program at 15 - 20 hours per week for 10 - 12 weeks.  May include weekend hours.

LOCATION: IMAGINE Native Plant Farm at The Bioreserve, 71 Retreat House Road, Glenmont, NY (just south of Albany’s South End behind the Port of Albany)

POSITION STATEMENT: Home Earth Alliance seeks two capable, reliable, and highly responsible nursery interns with a passion for native plants and the environment to join our summer team. Must possess a strong work ethic, a demonstrated interest to learn about native plants and ecology, and physical stamina to work outside through all summer weather conditions. Candidates must be able to: communicate and collaborate well with others, exhibit a high level of self-motivation, work effectively without supervision, take initiative to identify and address challenges as they arise, and possess excellent customer care skills. 

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: Summer interns will support IMAGINE Native Plant Farm in a variety of ways. Tasks will include:

  • Prepare soil mixes, seeding, watering, up-potting, pruning, and maintaining a clean and organized work space

  • Assist with efforts to maintain an Inventory of plants, supplies, and equipment

  • Clean pots, weed, and provide light property maintenance

  • Engage with volunteers and assist customers with plant and merchandise sales

  • Develop, install, and maintain community native plant gardens in partnership with City of Albany nonprofit partners.

  • Assist with special projects (eg., hoop house installation; creation of founders plots for seed increase, etc.)

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

  • College level coursework or equivalent experience in horticulture, gardening, plant propagation and care, and/or environmental stewardship

  • Familiarity with City of Albany neighborhoods and the community-based organizations that serve our most underserved communities.

ABOUT HOME EARTH ALLIANCE:: Home Earth Alliance is a nonprofit organization and native plant nursery located in the Capital Region/Albany NY area. The mission of Home Earth Alliance is to educate, inspire, and empower people to cultivate outdoor spaces to support biodiversity, mitigate climate change, and promote environmental justice. The IMAGINE Native Plant Farm was established to further that mission and meet the growing demand for ecotype native plant materials for public & private lands and urban spaces in the greater Capital Region.The IMAGINE Green Albany Corps Summer Workforce Development Program is made possible with the generous support of the Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region’s (CFGCR) Community Impact Grants program.

ABOUT THIS PROGRAM: Significant opportunity exists to regenerate developed land and urban lots into ecologically-balanced and productive habitats. True ecological restoration requires the use of “ecotypes” - plant populations that have adapted over hundreds of thousands of years to one particular geographic area, making them particularly resilient and well-suited. HEA’s IMAGINE Native Plant Farm focuses on the production of native plants, grown from seeds that have been responsibly collected by trained botanists, from wild populations in our ecoregion. We are equally committed to building a workforce prepared to support this critical new agribusiness.

Native plants have co-evolved over tens of thousands of years with other plants and animals and provide critical food and habitat for our precipitously declining pollinator and insect populations. At least 1/3 of the crops we eat depend on pollinators. Native plants enhance biodiversity and play a significant role in climate and environmental justice solutions. They set deep roots that manage and filter water, mitigate drought and flooding, and sequester carbon. They cool urban spaces and can filter air and soil of pollutants and heavy metals. Native landscapes provide beauty and enhance community well-being. 

The IMAGINE Green Albany Corps Summer Workforce Development Program will help us both expand and scale our native plant production and prepare a new generation to meet the demands of this emerging new agribusiness in New York State.

Interns will participate in workshops on:

  • Native plants and why they matter

  • The need to develop a native plant supply chain

  • Eco-landscape design principals

  • Garden installation & maintenance

  • Developing nonprofit partnerships & projects

Interns will receive practical hands-on work experience at IMAGINE Native Plant Farm:

  • Sowing seeds, transplanting, providing seedling care, and general farm maintenance with our Nursery Manager & staff

  • Supporting farmers market preparations and sales

  • Assisting with retail sales, customer care & merchandise inventory

  • Participating in farm event preparations and community event tabling

  • Assisting with the design and install of two urban native plant gardens in underserved areas, including:

  • Scoping nonprofit partnerships for native garden installations

  • Installing two gardens with volunteers from partner nonprofits

  • Preparing ribbon-cutting & educational training for each nonprofit partner and their community

TO APPLY:  Submit a cover letter and bio or resume to: info@homeearthalliance.org.

REFERENCES: Required upon request

POSTED: May 25, 2026. Positions open until filled. Immediate start date.