Nature Center Intern

Description

Meadowside Nature Center, located within Rock Creek Regional Park in Derwood, MD, is seeking a highly motivated individual to help with daily animal care (reptiles, amphibians, raptors), as well as to assist in interpretive programs and services.

This is mostly a Monday through Friday position with occasional Saturdays as needed.

Examples of Important Duties

Learn about animal behavior, animal enrichment, daily care procedures, and education techniques for working with animals in public programs

Learn about providing care for birds of prey with a willingness to learn about raptor behavior and a concentration on creating and delivering enrichment items

Develop and apply training materials for preparing volunteers for their duties, especially for the creation of animal enrichment.

Learn the steps of interpretive design from start to finish.

Learn about and apply tenants of customer service for mission-driven guest engagement, as well as help develop volunteer training materials on customer service practices.

Produce and implement a program plan to provide an educational experience for a specific audience of interest (for example, children, teens, adults, Spanish speakers, etc.)

Receive coaching on how to design a marketing strategy for reaching a target audience.

Create marketing materials like flyers, social media posts, and program descriptions.

Learn basics of design software (Illustrator, InDesign) to create flyers and brochures on nature topics.

Work as part of a team to provide exemplary customer service

Communicates effectively with manager, co-workers, and volunteers

Other duties as assigned

Minimum Qualifications

Associates or BA/BS, in progress

Supplemental Information

Important Skills and Characteristics:

Willingness to be able to work with and handle reptiles (including snakes) and amphibians

Willingness to learn about raptor behavior as well as provide enrichment to raptors

Experience with or willingness to work with children

Experience with Microsoft Office Programs (Word, Powerpoint, Excel)

Experience or willingness to learn graphic design and/or video production software

Ability to work independently, under the direction of a team and staff mentorship

Dedication to customer service-Coachable, and willing to learn through on-the-job experience

Flexibility to adapt to last minute changes

Working conditions:  

Work in Outdoor and Indoor Settings; may be exposed to inclement weather and outdoor hazards including heat, humidity, rain, and mud

Work is scheduled during the week as well as Saturdays, with up to 25 hours a week

Ability to lift 50 pounds

May be subject to medical, drug and alcohol testing.

The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate a workplace culture of diversity, equity and inclusion without discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, gender identity, or any other non-merit factor.

Applicants with Disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

If you require accommodations or special arrangements due to a qualifying disability, please notify the Recruitment & Selections Services Unit at the time of applications at or (Maryland Relay 7-1-1)

M-NCPPC will make all efforts to reasonably accommodate you.