Student Opportunities

“I learned so much at my internship with The Farm. The Farm has a diverse array of crops that allowed me to gain invaluable experience in urban agriculture. I feel well equipped and knowledgeable to take on the world of plants!”– Paige J. ’16, Biology

The Sustainability Leadership Cohort (SLC) is an intentional internship model that focuses on peer-to-peer mentorship and community building while providing experiential opportunities for Butler students to practice real-world problem solving and learn tangible skills for professional development and career preparedness. Students in the SLC work on a variety of urban ecology and sustainability projects across campus and the community. SLC students and advisors meet weekly as a cohort to support one another, co-develop ideas, and engage as a community that works to solve complex sustainability challenges.

SLC internship opportunities are intended to expand the understanding of applied sustainability through the motto: research, educate, and empower. Students have to opportunity to work on an established project at Butler and/or with the community. In some cases, the SLC advisors may support a student in the design and development of a project specific to a student’s interest.

Students may volunteer, work for hourly pay (only available for some opportunities), and/or earn academic credit*. The Office of Sustainability is committed to working with students, faculty, and departments on campus to find a project that best fits each student’s goals and interests.

Questions? Email us!

Internship deadlines:

Semester	Internship Duration	Applications Accepted	Internship Notification
Spring	Mid-January – Early May	Mid-October until filled	Within 3 weeks of applying
Summer	Late April – Late August	Early March – Mid-April	Within 3 weeks of applying
Fall	Late August – Mid-December	Late March until filled	Within 3 weeks of applying

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

Global Center for Species Survival

The Global Center for Species Survival (GCSS) Interns 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 internship position available for Spring/Fall semesters. Academic credit is also available, if desired.

Eligibility and Compensation: Open to third- and fourth-year students at Butler University, with majors related to communications, biology, and environmental studies. Availability to work 10-12 hours/week each semester for the duration of employment. Starting pay is $14 per hour.

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 Office of Sustainability 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. This position is also Federal Work Study eligible, contingent upon student eligibility.

Touba Gardens

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.

Compensation: This position is currently an unpaid, for-credit position, ~ 10 hours per week over the semester. This position is also Federal Work Study eligible, contingent upon student eligibility.

Kheprw Institute

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 south side 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.

White River Alliance

The White River Alliance (WRA) is a regional non-profit organization that serves the Upper White River Watershed and has a mission to improve and protect water resources throughout Central Indiana. The WRA is an alliance of diverse interests and organizations that work together to lead regional water resource cooperation, inspire widespread community stewardship, and improve the quality of water resources for everyone. The internship will focus on working with the River Assessment Field Team (RAFT) program, offering hands-on experience in water quality monitoring across the White River watershed. Interns will participate in data collection, foster community engagement, and support resource management while developing practical skills in field techniques and data analysis. View the full position description to learn more.

Compensation: This position is currently an unpaid, for-credit position, ~ 10 hours per week over the semester.

Academic Credit: . Our for-credit internships are typically BIO, ENV, STS, CCOM, and ED credits; however, we can work with your home department to try to 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.

The Farm at Butler

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 the outdoors and learn about ecologically-focused food production as you work.

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

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

Butler Thrift Store

Butler University is expanding the student-led enterprise model which provides students valuable hands-on experience running a real business and making decisions. The Butler Thrift Store is going to be piloted in the 2024-2025 academic year through the Office of Sustainability. During this pilot, there will be a series of pop-up events to prove the viability of a more permanent enterprise. The student internship will serve as the initial Thrift Store Manager and be guided by a mentor committee composed of Lacy School of Business faculty. The student interns will develop transferable skills and professional development. There is full-year internship potential dependent on midterm and end-of-semester evaluations. See full job description for additional details.

Time commitment: Depending on credit type, interns will work a minimum to 126 hours (10 hours/week) throughout the semester. Hours can be expanded to accommodate college internship credit requirements.

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

Compensation: Paid at $13 an hour, ~10 hours per week over the semester, with an option to complete the internship for academic credit.

Campus 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. We also accept project ideas from interested students.

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

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

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

Two opportunities are available:

Campus Sustainability Waste Internship: The waste intern will assist with waste reduction and diversion projects at Butler University that may include conducting waste audits, planning and implementing behavior change programs, reducing single-use plastics, inventorying and updating waste bins and associated signage, analyzing and tracking waste data analysis, and/or other waste-related initiatives.
(closed) Campus Sustainability Emissions Internship: The emissions intern will develop greenhouse gas inventory skills by collaborating with campus partners to collect and analyze greenhouse gas emissions from food, purchasing, study abroad, athletics, and/or faculty travel, and commuting. Throughout this process, the intern will develop best practices to streamline future reporting.

(closed) The Farm at Butler

The Farm at Butler is seeking to fill 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 Farm including: soil preparation, planting, weeding and cultivating, harvesting, and preparing for sales to campus dining.

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.

Compensation: Paid position, $12 an hour, ~20 hours per week over the summer.

Prepare your professional resume.
Write a cover letter describing why you are applying, the skills you bring to the position, your career area(s) of interest, and what you hope to professionally achieve from the internship.
Email cover letter, resume and academic schedule for the semester of the internship (if available) to sustainability@joe-yan.net. 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 within 3 weeks.

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

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 photo analysis can occur remotely, making this opportunity great for students with full schedules. If interested, please contact the Office of Sustainability.

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 Office of Sustainability.

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. If interested, please contact the Office of Sustainability.

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