Friends of the Trees Botanicals

Last Updated On: May 7th, 2026 at 07:37PM MST

Contact information

Farm Address:
932 B Twisp River Road
Twisp, Washington, 98856

Primary Contact: Michael "Skeeter" Pilarski
Primary Phone:
    Type: Cell
    Number: 360-643-9178
    Email: FriendsoftheTrees@yahoo.com

Website: https://friendsofthetrees.net/

Internship information

General Farm Description: Friends of the Trees Botanicals is based on the Olympic Peninsula and has a satellite farm in the Methow Valley. We offer a large variety of botanicals that we personally cultivate and wildcraft. Our wildcrafted botanicals are sustainably gathered to maintain healthy plant populations. We have a 1/2 acre herb farm located in Chimacum, WA and a 2-acre agroforestry farm in Twisp, WA. Our plantings are complex agroforestry systems which include a wide diversity of medicinal herbs, trees, shrubs, hedgerows, berries, vegetables and culinary herbs. We use permaculture and restorative land practices. We are in the process of getting Organic Certification this year. We use cultural practices, natural fertilizers and lots of mulch to build soil. Our goal is healthy plants, a healthy ecosystem and good yields. We have a 25-year reputation for delivering high quality fresh and dried botanicals.

CRAFT Member Farm? No

Internship Starts: 1-Apr-22
Internship Ends: 15-Nov-22
Number of Internship Available: 1
Application Deadline: none
Minimum Length of Stay: Full season commitment required

Internship Details:

Schedule:
● 30-40 hrs per week. 4-5 days a week. Days to be agreed upon. Some weeks off.
● Work load varies from week to week. Some weeks can be 40 plus hours and some weeks are lighter. There are days off and some week-long breaks.

Michael Pilarski is looking for a 2022 apprentice to mentor this year. He has trained apprentices most years since 1980. He juggles many businesses and projects and this position would involve assisting him with most of them. We are looking for someone who has a passion for farming, medicinal herbs, wildcrafting, and with a desire to be of service to the world. You will mostly be working alongside Michael, but also be expected to manage the farm while he is away. So you must be self-motivated and able to work unsupervised and independently. You will also overlap with our other team members on the Olympic Peninsula.
The main task is renovation of our two-acre, agroforestry system, now in its 23rd year. Thinning, brushing, bark peeling, seed collecting, harvesting medicinals, processing, berry-picking, propagation, planting, irrigation, and weeding. This is where most of your time will be but you may also be helping at the Chimacum herb farm occasionally.
Farming is hard work but also incredibly rewarding. A positive attitude and good work ethic are a must. We give preference to applicants who see farming as part of their long-term life goals and want to deepen their skills and experience.
Wildcrafting- We do a lot of wildcrafting in Eastern Washington. We go on roadtrips sometime for days at a time to harvest and would like you to join for some of them. This would require lots of flexibility since nature decides when it is time to harvest. And you must be able to travel lightly since the car will be filled with plant material!
The Global Earth Repair Foundation is one of Michael’s ongoing projects. A variety of technical skills are useful for the Foundation as well as the herb business. Filming and editing videos. Photography and posting to social media.
Organizational Tasks and Event Management: Assist Michael with this year’s round of workshops and gatherings. Attend and assist at many of the actual events. We have 22 workshops and events on the 2022 schedule in Washington.

Educational Opportunities: FTB’s educational efforts focus on field-based, hands-on immersion style learning in the context of diversified agroforestry farming practices and sustainably wildcrafting with a permaculture lens. Educational opportunities are informal and will deepen throughout the season as you become integrated into the farm. The hows and whys of our farming practices will be explained and apprentices are fully encouraged to ask questions and take on projects. Much of the learning of farming happens in the repetition of tasks day to day and experiencing the growing season. We will be working together, side-by-side. This creates a learning environment in which you get to learn from experience and direct conversation and discussion. By the end of the season apprentices will leave feeling more confident in their ability to run a small diversified herb farm. You will have access to our extensive Agricultural library with hundreds of books on Herbs, Farming and Earth Restoration. We can suggest many books and references based on your farming interests. Michael “Skeeter” has been farming organically since 1972. He wears many hats including Educator, Author, Organizer and Permaculture Instructor who has devoted his life to studying and teaching how people can live sustainably on this Earth. Since 1988 he has taught 41 permaculture design courses in the US and abroad. His specialties include earth repair, agriculture, seed collecting, nursery sales, tree planting, fruit picking, permaculture, agroforestry, forestry, ethnobotany, medicinal herb growing and wildcrafting. He has hands-on experience with over 1,000 species of plants!

Skills Desired: ● Farming experience required, at least 1 year ● Must have reliable car ● Roles and Responsibilities: ● Farm Field Work: Mulching, Weeding, Harvesting, Bed preparation, Irrigation ● Propagation: Seeding, Planting, Transplanting ● General Farm Maintenance ● Herb Processing ● Seed Cleaning ● Shipping Orders ● Wildcrafting ● Technical/ computer tasks ● Administrative and organizing help ● Filming and Editing videos is a plus ● Read entire job listing here and instructions on how to apply ● https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YiS8BbsUGd-2aUyStXyTxQKjaL8-YxLx2zMVzuTmPWc/edit?usp=sharing

Meals: Some staples are provided. We do some cooperative meals. You will have access to any food grown on the farm.

Stipend: $14 per hour on payroll. With opportunity for pay increase throughout the season. ● There is an unpaid 1 hour lunch break each work day.

Housing: No. There is an outdoor kitchen and canopy space but no sleeping space. Apprentices must provide their own sleeping tent or a mobile housing unit is a big plus.

Preferred method of Contact: Email