Eel Conservation Intern, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies – New York
Organization: Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies
Position Title: Eel Watch Intern
Location: Millbrook, New York
Dates and compensation: June-August, 2015. If interested, the candidate may also participate in collecting the interviews and surveys in April and May, 2015.; Compensation: $2,100 for the equivalent of five weeks of work at 7 hours/day. Candidate may work part-time throughout the summer.
Application Deadline: April 6, 2015
Description: The Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies is seeking a student (graduate or undergraduate) who is interested in supporting the Education Program’s efforts to assess the Department of Environmental Conservation’s Eel Watch Project. Each spring, hundreds of volunteers from across the Hudson Valley help researchers count glass eels that are migrating up the Hudson and into the tributaries. The DEC is interested in learning more about the volunteers who participate, specifically the high school and college students who come to the Fallkill Creek in Poughkeepsie. After a successful pilot project last spring, we will be doing an additional assessment in 2015 to understand why students participate, what they learn about collecting and analyzing eel data, and whether participating promotes environmental stewardship attitudes and behaviors. The assessment will involve a pre and post-survey of all participants, along with a small number of interviews. This project may also be useful as the basis for a senior research project.
Responsibilities: The successful candidate will transcribe the interviews and survey results into Excel (or another data analysis program), help develop a coding book for the different lines of inquiry, code the data, and produce a report of results.
Qualifications: We are looking for someone who is interested in environmental education, citizen science, and education research. While previous experience with conducting education research is not necessary, we are looking for someone who has fluency with Excel. Familiarity with other research programs such as SAS or nVivo is a plus. The candidate must be willing to come to the Cary Institute, in Millbrook, NY, for periodic meetings with project staff.
How to Apply: Please send a resume and a cover letter to [email protected] which details any previous experience in education research, environmental education, or citizen science, and also explains your facility with data analysis programs. Deadline to apply is Monday, April 6, 2015.
