Wilson Center for Social Entrepreneurship: Hudson River Park Trust - River Project Intern

Organization Name: Hudson River Park Trust

Internship Role: River Project Intern

Website: https://hudsonriverpark.org/

Location: Pier 40, 353 West Street, New York, NY

On-site/Hybrid/ Remote: On-site*

Length of Internship: 35hrs/week for 8 weeks (280 hours total)

Compensation: $16.00/hour - total of $4,480.00

*Work Schedule is a Sunday-Thursday schedule. (weekend schedule is pending based on COVID-19 programming impacts in 2021.)

About the Organization: Hudson River Park Trust is a public benefit corporation with 501(c)(3) status that has the mission to design, construct and maintain Hudson River Park. Hudson River Park is a 550-acre Park and Estuarine Sanctuary located along the West side of Manhattan between 59th Street and Chambers Street. The Park includes landscaped public piers, display gardens, heavily used lawns, ecological planting zones, athletic fields, esplanades, docks, public sculptures and other special features. The Park attracts over 17 million visits annually and offers more recreational opportunities on land and water than any other park in the city. The Park’s River Project is a small and passionate team dedicated to growing awareness for the Hudson River Estuary by conducting hands-on environmental education, community research and park-wide sustainability initiatives. Each year, the River Project serves tens of thousands of New Yorkers. River Project Interns will provide high quality hands-on environmental education to students and park patrons. In addition, Interns will support park research and monitoring projects focused on oyster restoration, marine debris, eDNA and fish population dynamics. Interns will also gain exposure to animal husbandry through the maintenance of fish tanks and local wildlife species.

The River Project Intern is an individual able to work productively as part of a team, multitask and problem solve. The candidate should have a great work ethic and enjoys working outdoors. The candidate should also share an interest in local marine science and environmental education with the ability to lift and move heavy equipment and gear, up to 50lbs. The River Project Intern will support HRPK in the following ways:

Environmental Education: 

·      Teach HRPK’s virtual and in-person environmental education programs to camp groups at outdoor locations throughout the Park

·      Facilitate HRPK’s public drop-in programs at outdoor locations, including Wetlab Look-ins, Shell-ebrate Oysters, Roving River and more

·      Learn catch and release fishing and how to handle live fish and bait is required

·      Develop educational resources to be used in programming and maintain various department resources, such as fishing poles and power tools

·      Monitor and maintain fish tanks, filtration equipment and aquaria signage

·      Provide proper care and husbandry to fish and other animals in tanks

·      Support park field scientists conducting research focused on oyster restoration, eDNA and marine debris

·      Facilitate monitoring projects with students and members of the public to collect accurate scientific data

Beyond the above requirements, we also wanted to add the following preferred qualifications for the ideal candidate:

·      Coursework focused on marine, environmental science or education is preferred

·      Experience working with children or the general public is preferred

·      Familiarity with Hudson River Park and general NYC geography are preferred

·      A valid driver’s license is preferred

Additional: With this position, we are excited to welcome the River Project Intern as a member of our team during the summer months.. Ideally, this individual will have prior experience working with children and/or prior knowledge of environmental and marine science. We seek someone that is interested in gaining experience in the environmental field and providing impactful educational experiences to diverse communities. We also look for someone that is comfortable interacting with members of the public in a friendly and professional manner. Overall, a flexible and adaptive mindset is appreciated as well in the intern candidates, given the many current uncertainties about our season due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.