Clean Water and Environmental Education Intern- Gaithersburg, MD

Organization: Izaak Walton League of America

Job Title: Volunteer Intern

Location: Gaithersburg, MD

Hours and Compensation: 40 hrs/wk, @15.500 stipend per year

Benefits:

The individual Corps Volunteer will receive a stipend of $15,500 per year plus health insurance, administered by the Chesapeake Bay Trust. In addition, the Izaak Walton League can provide a wealth of informal work skills training to a Corps Volunteer. League staff will train the Corps Volunteer in several conservation and environmental education skills, including:

• Biological, chemical and physical stream monitoring techniques.
• Water quality data analysis, management and reporting.
• Public speaking.
• Providing environmental education to children in school and community settings.
• Volunteer recruitment, training and management.
• Rain garden, rain barrel, and conservation landscape construction and management.

Position Dates: August 2012- July 2013

Organization Overview

The Izaak Walton League of America, founded in 1922, protects and conserves our shared heritage of wildlife, clean air and water, forests and soils. Our members and staff combine hands-on conservation action, policy work with legislatures and resource agencies, and public education to pursue our conservation goals at the local, state, and national levels. As a strong responsible voice representing hunters, anglers and outdoor recreationists, we occupy a special niche in the conservation community.

Description

The Izaak Walton League of America is excited to participate in the Chesapeake Bay Trust’s Chesapeake Conservation Corps, in which an opportunity exists for a stipend volunteer to spend a one-year term of service working on environmental education, stream monitoring and community outreach. The Volunteer will spend one year at the Izaak Walton League and participate in leadership and training opportunities with the full Chesapeake Conservation Corps.

Responsibilities

The Clean Water and Environmental Education Intern (Conservation Corps Volunteer) will be engaged in three major activities: 1) environmental education on stream ecology, pollution prevention and wildlife conservation; 2) homeowner outreach to increase the number of conservation landscapes and other stormwater management techniques installed; and 3) water quality monitoring.

This position is 40 hours per week and is located at the Izaak Walton League’s national headquarters at 707 Conservation Lane, Gaithersburg, MD 20878.

Environmental Education
The Izaak Walton League and our members in Maryland are actively connecting children to the outdoors and conservation in schools, on chapter properties, and at the League’s national Conservation Center in Gaithersburg. Our Creek Freaks program brings applied science to life for children ages 10 to 14 through hands-on and Internet-based stream exploration. Creek Freaks revolves around hands-on activities demonstrating science concepts, including how stream systems work and the importance of healthy, functioning riparian areas. It also includes field exploration and biological, chemical and physical data collection in local streams. Participants can use the Creek Freaks Web site to post data, photos, and videos to tell the story of their streams to the public.

The League can also expand the reach of informal environmental education in Maryland through our network of more than a dozen community-based chapters. These chapters are already connecting children to the outdoors and conservation through activities at chapter facilities, including nature walks, fishing days, and canoeing camps, and by providing programs in local schools. To more directly support these efforts, the League has developed a Youth Manual with activities for children ages 6 to 9. The activities encourage outdoor exploration and focus on ecology and conservation of water, forests, and wildlife.

The Clean Water and Environmental Education Intern will:

• Deliver environmental education programming to elementary and middle school students using the League’s Creek Freaks program and Youth Manual, both on the League’s headquarters property in Gaithersburg, Maryland and at elementary and middle school classrooms.
• Run one or more afterschool clubs based on the League’s Creek Freaks and Youth Manual curricula.
• Run environmental education activities at League chapters, watershed celebrations and other events throughout Maryland.
• Recruit, train and support League members and other community volunteers to provide informal environmental education to children.

Stormwater Management
With funding from the Chesapeake Bay Trust, the Izaak Walton League is currently conducting the Lands Green, Waters Clean Homeowner Behavior Change research project. The project seeks to increase the number of homeowners who install stormwater management practices such as rain barrels, rain gardens and conservation landscaping. The League is conducting scientifically sound research that will determine: 1) the best methods and messages to persuade homeowners to adopt conservation practices; 2) the barriers homeowners identify preventing them from implementing conservation practices; and 3) the best methods to overcome perceived barriers and increase the number of stormwater management practices homeowners install. The League, with assistance from project partners and expert consultants, will accomplish this research using a combination of literature review, audience segmentation, focus groups, and a pilot communications campaign.

The Clean Water and Environmental Education Intern will:

• Use the outreach materials and delivery methods developed through the Lands Green, Waters Clean project to conduct outreach to homeowners, connect homeowners with technical assistance or volunteer support as needed, and track the number of rain gardens, rain barrels, and conservation landscapes installed as a result of this outreach.
• Conduct community outreach including making presentations to homeowners associations, writing newsletter articles, distributing outreach materials at events, and conducting tours of stormwater management practices.
• Organize volunteer workdays or workshops on conservation landscaping and other stormwater management techniques at the League’s headquarters or at Izaak Walton League chapters throughout Maryland.

Stream Monitoring
The Corps Volunteer will work with Izaak Walton League chapters in Maryland, partner organizations such as the Muddy Branch Alliance, and other community volunteers to monitor water quality of streams throughout the state. Stream monitoring will utilize biological, chemical and physical monitoring protocols used by the League’s Save Our Streams program. The Corps Volunteer will enter water quality data into an online database and will track information about the number of volunteer participating and the number of stream sites monitored. The Corps Volunteer also will provide data to local government agencies and to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

Qualifications

• Must be between the ages of 18 and 25 years at the time of enrollment (can include individuals with or without college degrees).
• Interest and experience in environmental education, outdoor education, community outreach, water quality, stream monitoring and/or stormwater management a plus.
• Public speaking skills a plus.
• Ability to work constructively and cooperatively with a diverse array of staff, volunteers, and colleague organizations.

How to Apply

Interested applicants should apply directly through the Chesapeake Bay Trust by following instructions at www.cbtrust.org/chesapeakeconservationcorps; however, applicants also are encouraged to contact the Izaak Walton League with questions about this position. Please contact Leah Miller at [email protected] or 301-548-0150 x. 219. The application deadline is May 14, 2012, with the one-year service term to begin in late August, 2012.