Land Steward/Educator, Pound Ridge Land Conservancy – Pound Ridge, NY
Organization: Pound Ridge Land Conservancy
Job Title: Land Steward/Educator
Location: Pound Ridge, NY
Hours, Compensation & Benefits: One-year contract salary of $26,000 and 12 month rent-free residence in the Armstrong House.
Start Date: May 1, 2013
Application Deadline: March 2, 2013
Posted On: February 5, 2013
Organization Overview:
PRLC owns and stewards 357 acres in the town of Pound Ridge with conservation easements held in partnership with the Westchester Land Trust of another 100 acres. Visit our website for our full mission, preserve descriptions and an overview of our community-based programming and educational outreach.
Description:
PRLC seeks a Land Steward/ Educator specializing in land and natural resource protection for a unique and exciting position developing programming for a community-based education center and protected preserve. The Armstrong Preserve serves as an education center for land and natural resource protection, conservation research, community gardening, and “living lighter on the land” education, demonstrations, and cooperative initiatives.
Responsibilities:
- The Land Steward/Educator will be responsible for the development of five outdoor classrooms as educational prototypes at the Armstrong Education Center and Preserve through a well-structured process meeting high standards of educational, ecological and aesthetic principles. These five outdoor classrooms are the location of long-term land stewardship projects where community volunteers, workshop participants and student interns participate in ongoing field work and study. The five classrooms are: the Armstrong Preserve’s meadow; the Armstrong Preserve’s vernal pool; forest regeneration sites; coordinated elements of the Armstrong’s sustainable community gardens (including a bee hive and chicken coop) and the Armstrong House’s native landscaping (foundation planting, rainwater collection and future rain garden site). Outdoor classrooms such as the vernal pool, forest regeneration sites and native landscaping are in earlier stages of development. The land steward/educator will be responsible for creating and executing a formal planning process in conjunction with the PRLC board and local experts prior to implementation. S/he will be responsible for executing the elements of a comprehensive management plan for the Armstrong meadow through the use of facilitated volunteer opportunities, land stewardship workshops (our ‘Land Stewardship in Action series”), high school and college internship projects and independent research and field work. The land steward /educator will be working at the intersection of hands-on conservation education, land stewardship and natural resource protection as well as promoting and modeling lifestyle choices surrounding energy use and the cultivation of a personal land ethic. S/he will be responsible for documenting PRLC events, ongoing projects and opportunities on our website and blog as educational and outreach vehicles and be responsible for several additional field projects now underway on other PRLC’s preserves.
- The Land Steward/Educator will be responsible for the continuation of our outreach and partnering efforts, both on a local and more regional basis and the continued growth of a structured volunteer program at the Armstrong Education Center. PRLC’s goals include a variety of outreach and educational media tools- including our newly designed website which is the central online hub documenting and forwarding our work. Regularly scheduled public events include but are not limited to 1. Neighborhood group events where neighbors of our preserves gain insight into the ecological context of their backyards, are exposed to land management practices and private conservation tools; 2. Attendance at Northern Westchester school and community ‘green’ events, internship fairs and outreach to regional college programs; and 3. Coordinated programming and workshops with a variety of municipal, private and community organizations as well as the local schools K-12 where we seek to create ties with curriculum in the sciences, art, and community service programming.
- The land steward/educator will be responsible for the continued growth of a structured and sustainable volunteer program at the Armstrong Education Center and will assist with growing community and school partners and networking to build community connections around coordinated programming and volunteer opportunities. S/he will participate in the development of outreach and promotional material, organize meetings and facilitate events. The structured volunteer program includes: a) screening for defined volunteer opportunities; b) a series of age and interest appropriate volunteer trainings facilitated by both the candidate and others; c) a program of supervision and, d) a program of evaluation materials and metrics to analyze both outreach efforts and participation.
- The Land Steward/Educator will be responsible, in conjunction with a subcommittee of the Board of Directors, for overseeing/monitoring the independent energy systems of the residence and for the onsite recycling, composting and rainwater collection programs as well as writing a weekly blog about living off the grid and “lighter on the land.”
- The candidate will assist with tours of the residence, leading guided trail hikes, and facilitating outdoor classroom experiences, guide and assist with land stewardship of PRLC’s trails and selected projects at the preserves and help plan and execute organization events throughout the year.
Qualifications:
- Undergraduate or Masters Degree in natural resources related field such as environmental science, natural resource management/forestry, or 2-3 years equivalent experience in land management, habitat restoration or natural resource management.
- Understanding of current restoration and resource management techniques. Able to identify conservation values and design protection strategies for particular habitats.
- Experience in designing and implementing volunteer or community-based programming, providing supervision and evaluative metrics.
- Proficiency with MS Office or similar software, including Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint and Publisher
How to Apply: Please send a resume, cover letter, and writing sample on a subject related to the job opportunity to The Pound Ridge Land Conservancy, Attn: Elyse Arnow, at [email protected] with a copy to [email protected].
Contact Information:
The Pound Ridge Land Conservancy, http://www.prlc.net
Armstrong Education Center, 1361 Old Post Road, Pound Ridge, NY 10576
