Restoration Intern

This restoration project's goal is to restore lands damaged by border activities. Your responsibilities will include: raising desert plants in the on-site nursery: mixing soil, planting, transplanting and watering nursery plants, collecting seeds, performing site restoration: shoveling, digging and raking as well as removing invasive plants. Opportunities exist to accompany wildlife biologists in the monitoring and surveying of reptiles, mammals and endangered species.  Outcome of this project will be a one page summary of what the intern has accomplished.The goals of this internship are that the intern will gain the following:

1. How to care for a native plant nursery (specifically how to grow creosote bush from seed to seedling.)
2. How to conduct native plant restoration (in the Sonoran desert.)
3. Natural History of the Sonoran Desert (general plant and animal identification, as well as, ecosystem processes.
4. Exposure to a National Park: a general idea of how the NPS works, what it takes to earn a paid position with NPS, etc.

How the intern will achieve these goals:

1. Through hands on experience caring for creosote seedlings and planting seeds.
2. Through hands on experience conducting restoration.
3. Through expressing interest, asking questions of NPS staff, independently reading materials suggested by staff, accompanying/assisting NPS staff in monitoring expeditions.
4. Through day to day operations, attending any trainings or meetings applicable to intern.
5. From NPS mentors sharing their knowledge.