POSITION DETAILS
Position Title: Education Assistant
Park Unit: Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park, Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park
Location: Woodstock, Vermont
Number of positions available: 1
Can this position be fully remote: NO
INTERNSHIP DATES AND LENGTH
Duration: 36 Weeks (not flexible)
Start Date: 03/17/2025
Flexible Start Date: YES
LIVING AND RELOCATION ALLOWANCE:
Weekly Stipend: $665.00
Relocation Allowance: $400.00
CURRENT NUMBER OF APPLICANTS: Under 75 (This posting will close after receiving 75 complete applications or at 11:59 p.m. EDT on Sunday, 16 June, whichever occurs first.)
POSITION DESCRIPTION
This position will be a part of a two-park Natural Resource Management, Science Communication and Education team with technical support from the Northeast Temperate Network. Currently the forests at both MABI and SAGA are suffering from increased deer browse and a lack of diverse regeneration. This intern will provide vital assistance toward the restoration and future resilience of these culturally vital landscapes through data entry, analysis, and science communication. The two primary projects include 1. entering and analyzing silvicultural inventory data and 2. supporting educational efforts surrounding two existing community science protocols (phenology and salamander monitoring). Specific tasks include:
- Entering 15 years of silvicultural inventory data into a database in preparation for comprehensive analysis on forest regeneration dynamics
- Coordinate and implement data collection for two climate change related community science efforts, phenology and salamander monitoring
- Create educational resources for volunteers, students, and teachers about the community science projects
- Lead educational virtual and in-person community science experiences especially focusing on underserved communities that have not traditionally had access to the park and its resources
- Develop end of year reports and analysis from community science projects
- Create follow up experiences for students to use the data that was collected at the park
- Assist with development of lesson plans for use in conjunction with the community science projects
Additional natural resource management and education tasks:
- Maintaining tablets, GPS receivers and other scientific equipment
- Assist with coordinating “Working Woodlands” a science communication workshop designed to connect nature enthusiasts and landowners with natural resource professional to provide skills and knowledge to promote forest resilience
- Work with the park’s Natural Resources Lead and Consulting Forester to create science communication products around the park’s silvicultural inventories
- Assist with GIS data collection around various park monitoring needs
- Serve as a forestry safety ambassador tasked with interacting with the public during timber harvesting activities as part of the park’s Emerald Ash Borer Management Plan
- Assist with educational activities at the parks including but not limited to events, field trips, outreach, family programming, teacher trainings, and camps.
POSITION IMPACT
This position will facilitate the analysis of 15 years of forest regeneration data to extract and share key findings. Park forests currently face multiple stressors including a deer overbrowse problem and climate change. The data being collected is critical for informing park resource management about overall trends in forest regeneration and helps them further towards the goal of forest resilience. The intern will continue to support the community science salamander and phenology monitoring programs at the parks, which provides important data to resource managers about the possible impacts of climate change. Additionally, the intern’s support and recruitment of school groups to implement these community science monitoring programs will reduce the time-burden on the natural resources team to conduct them. There is also the opportunity to collect and analyze off-site data from these projects if schools wish to use the monitoring protocols on their school properties or in nearby green spaces. This could lead to better management and forest resilience in the wider community. This intern will also engage communities that the parks have not had the opportunity to in the past and will encourage them take advantage of the educational and natural resources the park has to offer.
DELIVERABLES
Deliverables include: compilation of silvicultural inventory data, report on key findings from the data and comprehensive communication plan to disseminate this information, protocol for developing end of year reports and analysis from community science projects, resource packet for teachers to use community science data in their classrooms and other supportive materials to facilitate these programs.
DESIRED INTERN QUALIFICATIONS
The ideal candidate will have a bachelor’s degree in biology, natural resources, environmental science, and/or science or environmental education. Preferred Skills/Strengths/Experience– attention to detail; self-driven with the ability to facilitate project goals independently; excellent verbal and written communication skills; commitment to practicing conservation through a lens of equity, inclusion and access; experience with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint); knowledge about statistics for data analysis; ability to make complex data easy to understand; a background or interest in education and working with children; lesson plan development; knowledge of best practices in educational work; willingness to work outside for long hours in a variety of temperatures/conditions; experience with natural systems and identifying plant and wildlife species; ability to work with a diverse set of volunteers, students, teachers, and staff members to achieve stated goals.
The applicant must be a U.S. citizen or U.S. legal permanent resident (“Green Card holder”). Prior to starting this position, a government security background clearance will be required. The applicant must be available to participate for 36 Weeks in order to be considered and participate.
WORK SETTING
Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park is located in Woodstock, Vermont – an area of great natural beauty alongside the Ottauquechee River in the foothills of the Green Mountains. The Park opened for the first time to visitors in 1998 and is the first unit of the National Park Service to focus on the theme of conservation history and the changing nature of land stewardship in America. It manages and interprets the early 19th century Billings/Rockefeller mansion and grounds complex, as well as a 500-acre forest property on the slopes of Mount Tom where hiking, nature study, and cross-country skiing are popular with visitors. Office work will be conducted from the historic carriage barn visitor center with intermittent field work and guiding volunteers in data collection. A variety of local restaurants and groceries are located in the village of Woodstock and within a few miles radius of the park. Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park is located in Cornish, NH on a west-facing slope of the Connecticut River Valley with marvelous views of Mount Ascutney and the Green Mountains of Vermont. The park, while once covered by glaciers and glacial meltwaters, today is home to upland forests, spring seeps, brooks, and two ponds. Over 100 acres of forest surrounds the core historic area, which sits on about 20 acres of land. The park was the home of Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848-1907) who created over 150 works of art, from exquisitely carved cameos to heroic-size public monuments.
VEHICLE AND DRIVERS LICENSE REQUIREMENTS
- Applicant must have a valid driver's license to drive a government vehicle.
- A personal vehicle is REQUIRED for this position.
HOUSING
Park housing is NOT available. The intern will be responsible for finding housing in the nearby area. Most interns are able to find housing options in the population hubs within a 30 minute drive from the parks. These include Lebanon, NH, West Lebanon, NH, Hanover, NH, Hartford, VT, and Windsor, VT. The parks also have a document with rentals available from landlords who typically work with the park to find housing for seasonal employees and interns. Typically these are room rentals and are at a lower cost than those found online. Housing costs vary widely depending on the location and size of the unit. Housing in the more populated areas or those in desirable tourist areas are much more expensive than those in the rural areas between the larger towns. Online prices for a 1-2 bedroom apartment can vary from $800 to $2,000+ per month. Depending on availability there could be park housing available, but it is not guaranteed.
KEYWORDS
Community Science, Climate Change, Education, Data Management, Forest Ecology
IMPORTANT NOTICES
This posting will close after receiving 75 complete applications, or at 11:59 p.m. EDT on Sunday, 16 June, whichever occurs first. Once you begin applying for a position, the application must be completed in one sitting. You cannot save and return later to complete it. Applicants can apply for up to five Scientists in Parks Intern positions per winter. You need to complete a separate application for each position in order to be considered. You should receive a confirmation email after successfully submitting an application. Sometimes institutional email filters/settings can redirect or block emails related to the application. We recommend watching spam, junk, and promotional email folders in case your service delivers messages there. Please visit How to Apply for additional resources and information about applying (i.e., learn what materials to have ready for applying, find a worksheet that previews application questions, etc.)
LEARN MORE
https://www.scientistsinparks.org/