Turtle Island’s Salmon Protection And Watershed Network (SPAWN), located in west Marin County, Calif. is seeking a qualified individual.
This position is unpaid, ideal for those looking to gain hands-on experience in field biology and restoration. Your work full time (minimum 40hrs a week) is compensated through housing down the road from our office, and invaluable on the job training.
Position is open until filled
Shared housing provided- 2 per room
Opportunity to volunteer at food bank in exchange for weekly groceries
Physically demanding tasks require lifting up to 50lbs. and working with extreme outdoor conditions (ex. sun, rain, poison oak, ticks)
Position Description:
SPAWN is offering a Climate and Redwoods Internship to work on the intersection between restoration and education starting in Fall 2017. These responsibilities will shift seasonally, and change based on the evolution of the organizations projects. Winter months focus on redwood seed collection, stratification, and planting. The intern will use these skills, and accumulated knowledge on redwood ecology, to assist with the 10,000 redwoods project: helping implement classroom education projects, gathering materials for events, and teaching lessons for a variety of ages. The intern will be responsible for monitoring the health and status for the out planted redwood trees under the 10,000 redwoods project: periodically monitoring, measuring, and photographing the trees, as well as keeping the donor database and out planted trees database up to date with current information. Additionally, the Climate and Redwood intern will assist with volunteer coordination, volunteer event planning and leadership, and organizational outreach. The intern will gain technical skills in stream and riparian restoration practices, vegetation monitoring, volunteer management, and fundraising and event planning skills.
Other responsibilities can include assisting with native plant propagation and out-plating, irrigation and watering, restoration site preparation, planning, implementation, monitoring, and maintenance of habitat restoration projects in the Lagunitas Creek Watershed, grant work, recruiting and training volunteers, data collection and entry, and project management. Beyond working in habitat restoration, interns will all learn about the dynamic inner workings of a non-profit. This includes fundraising, community development, outreach, database management, and campaign support.
Responsibilities Include:
- Redwood Tree Propagation: collect, stratify, and plant redwood seeds with best practices
- Educational work: work with a wide variety of ages to introduce redwood ecology and successfully collect and grow redwoods in the classroom. These events will range from informal creek walks, to school planting events, to PowerPoint presentations
- Redwood monitoring: Periodically assess the health of the out planted redwood trees for the 10,000 redwoods project, measure height and DBH, assess site health, and collect GPS waypoints
- Database management: Keep out planted redwood database and interactive donor map up to date
- Volunteer Outreachand Management: recruit and train volunteers to assist with habitat restoration projects and tie them into the current organizational campaigns.
- Habitat Restoration: assist SPAWN staff with planning, design, implementation, and monitoring of riparian restoration projects including native plant propagation and out-plating, irrigation and watering, restoration site preparation, data collection and entry, and project managementSome evening lectures, weekend events, and political advocacy required
Qualifications and Skills Desired:
- Ability to communicate effectively project a positive image to members of the public
- Organization skills with attention to detail.
- Experience in volunteer management or customer service
- Experience working as part of a dynamic team
- Experience working with students
- Experience collecting, entering, and organizing biological data
- An open and positive attitude to changing plans and priorities shifting on a moments notice
- Desire to learn, and the ability to ask clarifying questions
- Experience with Microsoft Access and Excel
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Experience in native (and exotic) plant identification
- Interested in stream/ riparian restoration practices
- Ability to work independently and organize oneself
- Ability to use PC or Mac proficiently (Windows Office)
- Driver’s license (own vehicle a plus)- If no personal vehicle
About Turtle Island’s 10,000 Redwoods Project:
Building on the historic 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement ratified by 195 nations, Turtle Island has launched the 10,000 Redwoods Project, which provides an innovative way for individuals, schools and businesses to directly engage in the climate change challenge through the simple act of planting trees to sequester carbon.
Redwood trees store more carbon per hectare than any other tree on Earth. Coastal redwood trees sequester triple the above ground carbon of any other type of tree, making them a key player in mitigating climate change. We know carbon is stored in redwood trunks, but amazingly soils and roots store even more!
Due to overharvesting, only five percent of the original old-growth coast redwood trees remain, and they are listed as “endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The loss of coastal redwoods in California also impacts critically endangered coho salmon and other species.
The fact that redwoods are fast growing, massive, long-lived, rot resistant, easy to cultivate, and awe-inspiring, make them the ideal icon for action on climate change.
The 10,000 Redwood Project was developed to support our project restoring endangered coho salmon in northern California, called SPAWN:
SPAWN (Salmon Protection and Watershed Network) works to protect imperiled salmonids, countless other species, and their habitat in the Lagunitas Watershed, West Marin County, Calif. This watershed supports one of the largest populations of endangered coho salmon in California, and also maintains populations of threatened steelhead trout and endangered freshwater shrimp. SPAWN bases their community restoration, research, education, outreach and advocacy efforts on science-based conservation principles.
Please email a resume and cover letter for the Climate and Redwoods Internship to catie@tirn.net.
