Internships and Opportunities in the field of Environmental Studies
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(posted 6/10/2008, deadline 7/18/2008)
MCC/AmeriCorps Environmental Educators 2008-2009
MCC is dedicated to environmental education, outdoor recreation and conservation projects, volunteer opportunities, and developing career and leadership skills.
Imagine yourself living in Maine, the great "vacationland" state. Maine's beauty will surround you as you hone your environmental skills and give back to our local communities. The Maine Conservation Corps Environmental Educator Program provides opportunities for members to gain experience in environmental education, volunteer leadership and community service projects. The rewards are unlimited. Join MCC-an AmeriCorps term of service in Maine will make a difference in your life and ours. For 25 years, the Maine Conservation Corps (MCC) has helped environmental organizations throughout Maine support and accomplish their conservation goals. MCC is a participant in the Maine Commission for Community Service AmeriCorps program and is within the Department of Conservation.
Environmental Educators can recruit, train and lead volunteers, teach school children and adults about environmental issues, work with watershed organizations to monitor water quality conditions, and research, educate and promote green initiatives such as energy conservation. Environmental Educators earn a living allowance while gaining environmental experience, receive free health insurance, receive assistance with child care costs, can earn an Education Award to use toward student loans or for future college tuition, receive ongoing training and experience networking opportunities.
As an Environmental Educator, you will serve with environmental organizations throughout Maine to help recruit, train and manage volunteers, teach school children and adults about environmental issues and design and implement conservation practices. Responsibilities may include developing and implementing innovative school and community outreach curriculum, landscaping with native stock, scientific data collection on wildlife habitat resources and water quality conditions, evaluating environmental findings and preparing reports, recruiting, training and educating volunteers about environmental impacts from human activities in rivers, streams and wetlands in Maine. You may assist with Volunteer Lake Monitoring, Maine's regional Envirothon, Agricultural Education Day, Children's Watershed Festival or Maine Audubon's natural history interpretation programs. You will gain invaluable environmental experience and a greater understanding of Maine's conservation challenges.
APPLICATION DEADLINE FOR ALL POSITIONS IS JULY 18, 2008
For detailed descriptions of all positions listed below: http://www.maine.gov/doc/parks/mcc/EEO_000.ht
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(posted 5/29/08)
Intern Position Available
U.S. Department of Justice
Environment and Natural Resources Division
Law and Policy Section
The Law and Policy Section (LPS) advises and assists the Assistant Attorney General on legal and policy issues. Working with the Office of Legislative Affairs, LPS coordinates the Environment and Natural Resources Division's legislative program. LPS also represents the Department of Justice on interagency groups of a variety of issues that relate to the mission of the Division. LPS also litigates amicus cases and undertakes other specially assigned litigation projects at the trial and appellate levels. Other duties include monitoring citizen suits; responding to citizen mail, congressional, and FOIA requests; and serving as the Division's ethics officers. LPS attorneys also coordinate the Division's activities on international environmental matters and environmental justice matters.
Duties of the unpaid undergraduate intern position include: attending congressional hearings and reporting on environmental legislation; researching legal and policy issues; and providing support for the section's amicus litigation.
Applicants must be U.S. citizens, pass a mandatory background check, and be willing to commit for a period of at least ten weeks. Applicants should be either enrolled as undergraduates during the internship, or planning on returning to their school in the time period following the conclusion of the internship.
Applications will be considered on a rolling basis but must be received no later than the following application deadlines:
- For Fall Internships (September- November/December 2008, dates
flexible): July 3, 2008;
- For Winter Internships (January- March 2009, dates flexible):
November 7, 2008;
To apply, please fax a cover letter, resume, unofficial transcript, and 3-5 page writing sample (may be an excerpt from a longer paper on any topic) to Jacob Lipson at (202) 514-4231, or mail the above to:
Jacob Lipson
Environment and Natural Resources Division / LPS
P.O. Box 4390
Ben Franklin Station
Washington, DC 20044-4390
For more information, please call (202) 305-0641
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(posted 5/28/2008 to be filled immediately)
Position Title: Field Intern for Watershed Monitoring, Guerrero State - Southern Mexico
Name of Organization: EcoLogic Development Fund (EcoLogic)
Organization and Project Description: The EcoLogic Development Fund is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated
to bottom-up, participatory conservation and development in Latin America. Its mission is to advance conservation
of threatened ecosystems in rural areas, where poverty is extreme, by promoting sustainable livelihoods that affirm
local cultures and by strengthening community participation in natural resource management. EcoLogic works in
partnership with local organizations; in areas where biologically diverse habitats are most threatened; and where
financial and technical assistance can reduce pressure on these habitats and foster economic self-reliance. It works
through local partners, and aside from direct project implementation, much of its work involves behind-the-scenes
negotiation and long-term support for local organizations.
In Guerrero, EcoLogic has worked since 2004 with its partner CRESIG (the Regional Council of the Sierra de
Guerrero in Mexico), a community-based organization which manages a 220,000 hectare network of protected
areas that overlaps significantly with the upper Papagayo watershed. CRESIG works to unite local ejido leaders,
community members from 900+ communities, and government agencies to support sustainable development that
simultaneously strengthens biodiversity conservation and the sustainable management and utilization of natural
resources. To address the interrelated problems of forest & river degradation and rural poverty, EcoLogic and
CRESIG are implementing a project that combines reforestation and sustainable agriculture, building local capacity
to manage and monitor the watershed, and setting the stage for payments for ecosystem services (PES) for both
water stewardship efforts and forest-based carbon sequestration. Our collaboration involves manual labor (e.g.
reforestation and watershed demarcation); organizing and training (e.g. community meetings and governance
support); and negotiating access to financing from downstream water users and international investors in voluntary
carbon markets.
Intern Job Description: The intern will serve EcoLogic’s partner, the Regional Council for the Sierra de
Guerrero, and a team of Mexican (and potentially US-based) university professors/professionals to engage rural
communities upstream of Acapulco, Mexico in watershed characterization, monitoring, and conservation planning
along the Papagayo River. This is an opportunity to bring fresh ideas to an exciting project and learn from local
communities about development and conservation issues.
Duties and Responsibilities: Prior to assignment in Mexico, the intern should spend at least one forty hour work
week assembling samples of available forms/methods to assist in basic data collection, descriptive river analysis,
river bank analysis, and wildlife & stream corridor conditions and establish contact with Mexican university
counterparts through EcoLogic’s Regional Office management team. The intern will then travel to southern Mexico
and work as part of a team to build a constituency for the protection and management of two microwatersheds
within the larger Papagayo River watershed. The intern is charged with collecting baseline data which includes,
determining point and non-point pollution sources, locating erosion-prone areas and identifying critical habitat, and
other information/indicators that emerge as relevant as the work unfolds. The intern is expected to work with
university counterparts to help design a water monitoring program; help support the training of teams of local
foresters and community council leaders; support action planning with local participants for watershed cleanup that
encourages alternatives to poor land use practices; and author a report on the status of the river/streams to share
with local constituents, EcoLogic, and others. The intern will also bring back photos and other firsthand data to
EcoLogic’s Cambridge headquarters as well as generate a document for EcoLogic which accurately describes the
social, geographical, and institutional framework of the watershed to assist EcoLogic in its efforts to restore the
Papagayo River. Ideally, the intern will make a presentation to EcoLogic staff and supporters in Cambridge at the
conclusion of the internship.
Qualifications:
• Spanish fluency an absolute must
• Humility and willingness to learn from rural community leaders
• Experience and stamina living and working in developing countries with basic accommodations
• Enrollment in or completion of graduate degree program in engineering, landscape ecology, forestry, water
systems, or other relevant discipline.
• Strong systems thinker with skills in research, analysis and creative thinking
• Strong intercultural competencies and openness to different worldviews, especially as they relate to
technical project planning
• Flexibility and ability to collaborate with a diverse staff team
• Ability to ask questions
• Familiarity with Latin America, international development, environmental issues, and related themes
Job Location: Guerrero, Mexico and Cambridge, MA
Compensation: Small stipend, travel expenses, and basic lodging provided by EcoLogic
Hours: No less than a total of 500 hours (Field work will be 6 days per week, 10 to 16 hours per day)
Duration: 2 months in summer 2008, potential 1-2 week return trip in December 2008 / January 2009
Start Date: As soon as possible
Contact Name: David Kramer
Title: Program Officer, Institutional Development
Address: 25 Mount Auburn Street, Suite 203 Cambridge, MA 02138
Phone Number: (617) 441-6300
Email: internships@ecologic.org
Application Materials: Submit cover letter, resume and contact information for two references.
How to Apply: Email or mail application materials
Nondiscrimination Policy: yes
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(posted 4/9/2008, deadlines 7/3/2008 and 11/7/2008)
Intern Position Available
U.S. Department of Justice
Environment and Natural Resources Division Law and Policy Section
The Law and Policy Section (LPS) advises and assists the Assistant Attorney General on legal and policy issues. Working with the Office of Legislative Affairs, LPS coordinates the Environment and Natural Resources Division's legislative program. LPS also represents the Department of Justice on interagency groups of a variety of issues that relate to the mission of the Division. LPS also litigates amicus cases and undertakes other specially assigned litigation projects at the trial and appellate levels. Other duties include monitoring citizen suits; responding to citizen mail, congressional, and FOIA requests; and serving as the Division's ethics officers. LPS attorneys also coordinate the Division's activities on international environmental matters and environmental justice matters.
Duties of the unpaid undergraduate intern position include: attending congressional hearings and reporting on environmental legislation; researching legal and policy issues; and providing support for the section's amicus litigation. Applicants must be U.S. citizens, pass a mandatory drug test, and be willing to commit for a period of at least ten weeks. Applicants should be either enrolled as undergraduates during the internship, or planning on returning to their school in the time period immediately following the conclusion of the internship.
Applications will be considered on a rolling basis but must be received no later than the following application deadlines:
- For Fall Internships (September- November/December 2008, dates
flexible): July 3, 2008;
- For Winter Internships (January- March 2009, dates flexible): November 7, 2008;
To apply, please fax a cover letter, resume, unofficial transcript, and
3-5 page writing sample (may be an excerpt from a longer paper on any
topic) to Jacob Lipson at (202) 514-4231, or mail the above to:
Jacob Lipson
Environment and Natural Resources Division / LPS P.O. Box 4390 Ben Franklin Station Washington, DC 20044-4390
For more information, please call (202) 305-0641.
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(posted 3/19/2008)
The Wildlands Studies Program, California State University, Monterey Bay
offers a series of environmental and cultural ecology field studies that we invite you to join. This year you can choose among sixteen wildlife, wildland and cultural ecology field studies searching for solutions to environmental and cultural challenges. Each program grants 4-12 upperdivision units credit. Please note that all programs are open and accepting applications now. Field studies take place in wildland locations throughout the Montana Rockies, California, Washington, Colorado, Alaska, Hawai'i, Belize, Spain, Brazil, Thailand, South Africa, Himalaya, China and Mexico. All of our programs, now available for your consideration are described at our website: www.wildlandsstudies.com (please click on or type in this address on your browser); or a catalog can be sent to you in the mail. Our email address is wildlands@wildlandsstudies.com If you have questions about any of our programs, please feel free to get back in touch with us. ____________________________________
(posted 3/13/2008)
Sustainable Conservation 2008 Summer Associate Program
JOB ANNOUNCEMENT
Organization: SUSTAINABLE CONSERVATION
Location: San Francisco, CA
Brief Description of Organization: Sustainable Conservation is an entrepreneurial non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the stewardship of natural resources using innovative, pragmatic strategies that actively engage businesses and private landowners in conservation. Since 1992, Sustainable Conservation has charted new territory in environmental problem-solving. By using industry analysis to identify barriers and create incentives that encourage more environmentally sound practices within the private sector, we forge new solutions that sustain the environment within a market economy. One of our hallmarks is developing strategic partnerships across all sectors—private, public, and nonprofit—to facilitate change. Reflecting our mission is the fact that all of our program and executive staff have significant work experience in the private sector and share a passion for environmental quality.
Supervisor: Allen Dusault, Program Director, Sustainable Agriculture
Job Title : Summer Associate
Job Description : Our summer associate will help us with Water Use Efficiency. Specifically we are looking at innovative technologies, practices or approaches to making more efficient use of this scarce resource. Thinking outside the box will be important in evaluating workable alternatives. The summer associate will conduct related research, interview stakeholders, review case studies, and provide analysis and a written summary of findings, concluding with a brief presentation for Staff.
Job Significance:California water policy has failed to address the fundamental conflicts that exist between regions (north versus south), economic sectors (agriculture versus municipal) and land uses (new housing developments versus existing farms). However, most of the discussion has been stuck on the legal water rights and environmental constraints that appear to limit options. We believe there are solutions that don’t require environmental or economic compromise and can fit within existing legal structures.
Evaluating the best options for success for this project will help the organization identify opportunities and lay the foundation for implementation in the future. Previous summer associate efforts have led to our successful dairy, auto recycling, and horticulture industry projects among others.
Desired Qualifications and Experience: Graduate student focused in economics, engineering, environmental or agriculture and an entrepreneurial attitude with an appreciation of conservation and biodiversity issues; understanding of water efficiency and reuse technologies a plus. Self-starter capable of working both independently and with stakeholder groups; ability to maximize work product in a very flexible and unstructured setting; excellent communication skills; and experience in consulting or an industry with significant environmental issues (preferred).
Salary : $700/wk. [Students: Find out if you are eligible for a supplemental grant from your school’s internship fund.]
Background Information : Visit the Sustainable Conservation website at www.suscon.org.
To Apply:
E-mail cover letter and resume to: Jobs@Suscon.org and reference Summer Associate Position in the Subject line. In your cover letter, please be sure to highlight aspects of your experience that are relevant for this job, and explain why you are interested in working in the nonprofit sector and/or with this specific organization.
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Azafady – Internship in Madagascar
In 2008, Azafady is offering a limited number of unique internship opportunities for students to participate in humanitarian, environmental and conservation work while having the chance to see how a grassroots development NGO operates.
Azafady is a UK registered charity and Malagasy NGO working on health, conservation and sustainable development projects in the southeast of Madagascar.
For more information, please visit: http://www.madagascar.co.uk/mailers/mailer_121007_mailer_us.htm
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Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC)
Internship Program in Environmental Studies
Undergraduate and beginning graduate students have a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the fields of environmental researchand education. The program enables students to work on specific projects under the direction of professional staff and is tailored to provide the maximum educational benefit to each participant.
The application deadline for summer positions (May to August) is February 1.
The deadline for spring positions (January to May) is November 15.
And the deadline for fall positions is June 1.
E-mail: SERCintern@si.edu
http://www.serc.si.edu/pro_training/internships/internships.jsp
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