The primary purpose of this internship is to provide information about the city's parks to the public in hopes of promoting a positive change in people's behavior toward nature and the environment. The City of Jacksonville operates the largest urban park system in the Unites States. Many of these parks provide invaluable habitat for declining species of wildlife with Huguenot Memorial Park being perhaps the most ecologically significant of these city-managed properties. The park is not only one of the best surfing and kite boarding spots in the area but is also considered Duval County's best birding site.
Intern will primarily work under Parks Naturalist assisting with her duties. During summer months, most attention is focused on the large seabird colony and nesting shorebirds. Huguenot Memorial Park is the only drive-on beach within Jacksonville city limits; the land is a peninsula with the tip closed off to driving seasonally for nesting birds. Intern will also assist with monitoring sea turtle nesting and educating visitors in the nature center. The nature center is open daily Memorial Day – Labor Day and on weekends during the off-season, where more attention is focused on creating new displays and going over collected data from nesting season.
Applicants should have a strong interest in birds and marine life and good communication skills for interacting with park visitors. Interns should expect to gain experience in conducting biological surveys; protecting wildlife through informative interpretation to the public; identifying and removing invasive species; monitoring sea turtle nesting success; and maintaining public lands. If the intern is interested in creating new displays for the nature center, they may also gain some experience in bone processing and introductory taxidermy working under a Scientific Collections permit.
Intern benefits:
Living allowance: $297.00 per week
Relocation Travel: $1,100.00 one time
Commuter Allowance: $30.00 per week
Housing Allowance: $1,000.00 per month
The AmeriCorps Education Award available upon successful completion of this position is $3,172.50.
*All allowances subject to applicable federal, state, and local taxes.
It is SCA’s policy that all AmeriCorps-required background checks must return cleared results prior to the position’s start; this includes being fingerprinted for the FBI check. Otherwise, the AmeriCorps award will be removed or the position’s start date will be delayed due to non-compliance.
Conditions of Employment
For SCA’s COVID guidance, please refer to www.thesca.org/covid.
Position ID: PO-00732714
Expected Dates: March 13, 2023 - September 10, 2023
Location:
10980 Heckscher Drive
Jacksonville, FL 32226
US
Training Provided: Intern will attend marine turtle nesting survey workshop from state wildlife agency.
Educational/Recreational Opportunities: Intern will learn how to identify a variety of shorebirds and how to protect them.
Main Area of Focus: Natural Resources Mgmt
Further Details
AmeriCorps Eligible: Eligible
Driving Logistics: Required
Park is far out from most neighborhoods in Jacksonville.
Housing or Stipend Provided?
C.Partner will pay the SCA to provide housing allowance for the member.
Indoor/Outdoor: Outside
US Citizenship: Yes