We’re happy to present the March 2023 bulletin of NWF’s Young Professionals listserv. Please use this listserv to share your own initiatives, pose questions and network by simply emailing youngprofessionals@lists.nationalwildlife.org.
IN THIS ISSUE:
- NWF EcoLeader Spotlight: Daniella Lewis, NWF Fellow
- Jobs and Opportunities: Check out career opportunities at NWF
- Take Action: Take Action for Pollinators and Native Plants
- Happenings: Join us at Power Shift 2023
NWF ECOLEADER SPOTLIGHT
Daniella Lewis
2011 Campus Ecology Fellow
University of Texas at Austin, TX
Project: Daniella created a community garden at the University of Texas at Austin to inform and expose the campus and city communities to the benefits of local, organic food, and empower individuals to take charge of their health and the health of our environment. The UT Community Garden is flourishing and is the setting of many campus community-building events such as potlucks, film screenings and workshops. Daniella secured funding from the UT student green fee to start the UT Micro Farm during the fall 2012 semester. The Micro Farm is the first student-run garden on campus.
What she’s doing now: Following her Fellowship, Daniella went on to grow her involvement in creating gardens on campus and worked on the UT Micro Farm, UT's first student-run farm while also completing her degree in Architecture. Daniella now works at a nonprofit organization called Plant It Forward which provides refugees with the tools, training and business skills needed to become successful urban farmers.
Daniella on her Fellowship: The NWF Fellowship I was awarded several years ago made me most aware of the student-led environmental projects happening across the country. Awareness of such a number and diversity of projects served as a source of momentum and encouragement for me then and now.
The whole experience was essentially a tailored opportunity to help me become more mindful of what I was trying to achieve and how I could thoughtfully actualize my goals . . . It turns out that I’m still very much immersed in farming (and the richness that is urban farming), little did I know at the time that the fellowship would be one of the initiators.
Read Daniella’s full interview in our EcoLeader Top 50 Inspiration series, HERE.
What are YOU up to? We love to hear all of the exciting and inspiring things NWF alumni are investing their time in. Let us know (cochranc@nwf.org) and you could be featured in the “Alumni Spotlight.”
JOBS/OPPORTUNITIES
Be sure to check out the NWF EcoLeaders Career Center for even more career and professional development resources including career sector outlooks, employer interviews, webinar archives and more! www.nwfecoleaders.org/careercenter
Sign up to become an EcoLeader community memberto access the Career Center, it’s free to join!
Early Childhood Health Outdoors Intern, National Wildlife Federation
Denver, CO
The Design Intern will collaborate with the ECHO team to develop landscape designs, supplemental materials and graphics, and support other programmatic needs. Design will focus on outdoor spaces where young children and families spend time on a daily basis: primarily child care centers, but also including schools, libraries, parks, museums, community centers, hospitals, neighborhoods. The position will be expected to apply evidence-based, best practice design principles to a variety of site contexts and create developmentally-appropriate, custom design solutions driven by the programmatic needs of the clients and site users.
Coordinator, Affiliate Engagement, National Wildlife Federation
Remote
The Coordinator of Affiliate Engagement is a critical component of a national team that works to strengthen relationships and partnerships across the Federation, in order to amplify the collective impact of NWF and our affiliates on conservation issues. The Coordinator supports strong, constructive relationships between NWF and affiliates by providing administrative and logistical support to the Affiliate Partnerships Team.
Education Program Manager, Earth Tomorrow Houston
Houston, TX
To support our mission, NWF’s South Central Education Program in Texas is seeking an inspiring and engaging Program Manager for to launch Earth Tomorrow, Houston. Earth Tomorrow cultivates a new generation of lifetime environmental stewards through a year-long cycle of leadership training, issues exploration, civic engagement, career development, community outreach and education, and student-led community action projects. The Program Manager will have a passion for conservation and Environmental Justice as well as experience working with youth from diverse backgrounds, event planning and project management skills.
*View additional job opportunities with National Wildlife Federation HERE
*View additional job opportunities with National Wildlife Federation’s state affiliate organizations HERE
TAKE ACTION
Take Action for Pollinators and Native Plants
Many birds, butterflies, bees and other pollinators are in decline, as are an increasing number of native plants essential for their survival, due to threats from habitat loss, invasive species and climate change.
The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act will increase support for states to recover not only declining wildlife populations, but also the thousands of at-risk native plants in the United States.
HAPPENINGS
Join us at Power Shift 2023
April 6 – 8, 2023
Bvlbancha (colonially known at New Orleans, LA)
Power Shift 2023 will be a massive national youth convergence that will bring together thousands of young people to skill-up to mitigate pending climate catastrophe through three days of trainings, workshops, panels, and actions. There will be speakers, workshops, an action, healing spaces, and more.
Mark Your Calendars for the 2023 EcoCareers Summit This Earth Month
Staring April 10th - Online
The National Wildlife Federation will be hosting the seventh annual EcoCareers virtual event this April (Earth Month!) with more sessions, more options, and more opportunities for college and high school students and educators to learn about and prepare to thrive as a part of the green workforce of tomorrow.
Beginning April 10th and throughout the rest of the month, learn about careers in these and other sectors from industry and business leaders, governmental and non-governmental organizations, and successful entrepreneurs who will be sharing their insights, advice, and inspirational stories.
Stay tuned for more details coming soon!
Get Outdoors and Come Clean for Earth!
The National Wildlife Federation and Johnson Outdoors have teamed up to inspire people to get outdoors and take simple conservation action to help clean up our planet.
We’re calling on outdoor lovers everywhere to come together to take the Clean Earth Challenge! Join with friends, family, neighbors, classmates and co-workers in a community effort to help make our planet a healthier, happier place.
Our goal is to collect one million pieces of trash and debris that litter our beautiful land, oceans and waterways. This pollution has a devastating effect on the health of our ecosystems, wildlife and the planet. By taking the Clean Earth Challenge, you can help improve the health of our environment.
MORE JOBS/OPPORTUNITIES
Land of the First Light Fellowship, Native Land Conservancy
Cape Cod, MA
The Native Land Conservancy on Cape Cod is now accepting applications for the summer of 2023 Land of the First Light Fellowship. Successful applicants will spend 10 weeks in Mashpee on Cape Cod, ancestral homelands of the Wampanoag. They will develop their own project based in ecological research, wetland restoration, or land protection and be paired with an expert mentor from Mass Audubon. They will also enjoy wide-ranging excursions, including guided preserve walks, community events, hands-on restoration, discussion with tribal elders, nonprofit board meetings, and weekly check-ins with peer fellows. To be eligible you must be Native American between the ages of 18 to 25 with an interest in a career in conservation. A stipend of $6000 will be paid and additional support is available for housing, travel and tech.
Ecologist, The Wetlands Initiative
Chicago, IL
The Ecologist will play a central role in developing and executing The Wetlands Initiative’s (TWI) ecological restoration work. This is a full-time position with benefits that is based in our Chicago office and will provide project, research, and administrative support for our ecologists and site managers. This will be an excellent position for someone early in their career path in restoration ecology and/or habitat conservation.
Field Coordinator, Youth Programs, Montana Conservation Corps
Bozeman and Kalispell, MT
At MCC crews camp while working on physically demanding and essential natural resource and conservation projects on some of the most breathtaking landscapes in the Northern Rockies and Plains. The Field Coordinator for Youth Programs (FCYP) staff position is responsible for the field coordination and logistical support of all Montana Conservation Corps (MCC) youth program field-based activities. Primary duties include technical and logical coordination of MCC project work in the field. Duties also include direct support and mentoring of youth crew leaders and enrolled youth in the program. Additional activities will include field visitation to help ensure the successful and safe completion of MCC projects, and ensuring compliance with MCC policies and procedures. The FCYP is supervised by the Youth Program Manager and is expected to maintain good communication between all MCC offices, project partners and crews.
Biologist, Pollinator Partnership
Eastern Oregon
Pollinator Partnership (P2) is looking for an experienced and passionate professional who possesses the skills to expand and enhance USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and P2 pollinator programs working as P2’s Partner Biologist in the Western United States. This individual will be a full-time employee of P2, working closely with NRCS Area and Field Offices and their partners. This position will provide outreach, education, and technical assistance to a diversity of private landowners and partner organizations to accelerate adoption of pollinator and other wildlife conservation practices in Oregon and throughout the West. The P2 Partner Biologist will work in joint capacity with NRCS and other partner agencies to promote, coordinate, and implement conservation provisions of the Federal Farm Bill as it relates to pollinator habitat on private lands. This position will be based in Eastern Oregon, but will provide remote support to several other Western states.
Conservation Diversity Fellow, Open Space Institute
Manhattan, NY
The Conservation Fellow is a one-year term position. The objective of the Conservation Diversity Fellowship is to introduce and advance the Fellow’s professional experience in land conservation. This will be achieved by familiarizing the Fellow via a rotation with OSI’s programs and supporting departments during their first few months and a deeper immersion in one or two programs during the second half of their time. This will be achieved by ensuring the fellow has an active role in core work with support and mentorship from the Conservation Communities Director.
GIS Specialist, San Francisco Estuary Institute
Richmond, CA
The GIS Focus Area is responsible for serving the Institute and external user community’s spatial information needs through collaborative and innovative projects. Its success has provided the Institute with a strong reputation of GIS excellence, regarding spatial dataset creation, spatial tools and analysis, and evocative cartography. The GIS Specialist will work with both technology and science teams to develop and implement GIS methods, tools, and web delivery applications to support local and statewide environmental management. GIS staff work closely with SFEI’s Clean Water program on aquatic contaminant distribution and analysis and the Resilient Landscapes program on wetlands mapping, landscape analyses, and resilience planning.
*You can now find this month’s bulletin as well as other great professional development and career resources at NWF EcoLeaders: www.nwfecoleaders.org
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