Summer Climate Internships- Cambridge, MA

Organization: Better Future Project

Job Title: Summer Intern

Location: Cambridge, MA

Hours and Compensation: 40 hrs/wk, unpaid, food and housing provided

Position Dates: June 1 – August 18

Application Deadline: June 1

Posted on: May 16

Organization Overview

Better Future Project Summer Internships

• Learn community organizing!
• Become a stronger leader!
• Spend your summer on a bike, traveling across New England!
• Learn from and connect with community leaders!
• Inspire others to take action to live their values more deeply!
• Learn from Environmental Justice Communities!
• Highlight what communities are doing to move beyond fossil fuels through the press, blogging, and our new Digital Movement Map!

Climate Summer riders travel exclusively by bicycle in small teams across New England, spending approximately one week in a community before biking on to the next. While in each town, riders connect with community leaders who are actively addressing society’s addiction to fossil fuels by crafting local solutions that strengthen communities. Riders bring with them a movement-building perspective, empowering those they meet and helping to highlight the important work of local organizations with the local press and in our digital Movement Map, which will catalogue the efforts of groups in each community visited. While riders are encouraged to train in preparation, riders of all skill levels – including beginners – are welcome.

Description

The programs is open to all young adults ages 18-25. You do not need to be attending/have attended college to apply. Older applicants who are currently full-time students will be considered. We encourage you to apply early, as the program will be filled as soon as we admit a sufficient number of diverse and qualified applicants.

Internship Credit and Funding Housing and food are provided to all interns for the duration of each program. Better Future Project Summer Internships do not offer a paid stipend, though limited funds are available to help qualified applicants who require financial assistance in order to participate. Many colleges and universities offer stipends to students participating in unpaid internships. Internship and course credits may be available, based upon individual college and university policies.

Training Both programs begin with approximately one week of intensive training. Interns will learn the nuts and bolts for a successful summer and community organizing skills from experienced climate movement leaders. Our organizing model emphasizes building relationships with diverse constituencies, training for leadership development, using campaign structure and developing public narratives that motivate for action. The training will also include basic skills, such as working with media, running effective team meetings and, of course, bike safety and maintenance.

Responsibilities

Responsibilities Climate Summer participants work in groups of five or six with a trained team leader, biking from town to town across one of the New England states. Each team visits approximately 7 communities, spending close to a week in each location. Interns commit to travel exclusively by bike, transporting their own gear. Past experience traveling long distances by bike is not a formal requirement though advanced preparation is recommended. Our rider teams form intensive communities, living and working together sustainably. Teams are housed by community partners, primarily in houses of worship. Teams cook and clean for themselves.

The experience No two days of our programs are exactly alike, just as no two communities are exactly alike. Once a team bikes into a community, riders might spend their time meeting with a diverse group of community members, attending public events (including farmers’ markets, festivals, and city council meetings), co-sponsoring events and workshops with community, business, and municipal groups, and cataloging the important work is happening in each town through interviews with local leaders. Riders work with communities to connect the diverse constituencies within the emerging grassroots movement beyond fossil fuels, as well as supporting and enhancing the local solutions already underway in those communities. Often, teams engage in direct service, skill sharing, and/or raising the profile of existing local solutions and policy advocacy projects through earned media, social networking, and public events.

Qualifications

• Successful applicants will :
  • have a passion to make a difference in the world
  • be eager to expand their skill sets and experience as organizers and movement leaders
  • be interested in social justice, re-localization, climate stability, public health, public policy, and/or environmental justice
  • bring existing skills and knowledge (for instance video editing, photography, music, art, cooking, navigation, public speaking, etc.)
  • have experience or a desire to gain experience in community organizing
  • be 18-25 years of age, and/or a full-time student (high school graduates who are not yet 18 will be considered)
  • be willing to dedicate the full internship period to living and working with their teammates (Better Future Project summer internships offer an immersion experience. It is not possible to undertake another job or internship concurrently.)
  • be comfortable sharing living space, sleeping on the floor and sharing cooking responsibilities with peers
• Participants need to bring
  • a bicycle and helmet for use during the internship (some assistance may be available if this is a barrier)
  • a laptop computer and a cell phone (some assistance may be available if this is a barrier)
  • basic gear (backpack, sleeping bag, etc….a packing list will be provided and some assistance may be available)

How to Apply:

Applications will be accepted and reviewed according to the following deadlines, and until positions are filled:

Final Deadline: June 1st, 2012 (Please note that the deadline has expired. However, we do have 2 available slots due to the withdrawl of confirmed participants. Please apply as early as possible as these two slots will be filled as quickly as possible.)

Download an application at: http://www.climatesummer.net/get-involved/apply/ Questions? Contact us at [email protected]