Apply to be a Summer 2025 Environmental Justice and Ecological Restoration Intern!
Overview: These internships provide a unique opportunity for students to gain hands-on experience in environmental justice, ecological regeneration and environmental journalism projects around Maryland, Delaware, and the region. In an era of dramatically compromised ecological systems, economically impoverished and minority communities have experienced the brunt of this environmental degradation, and are particularly vulnerable to stressors like flooding, droughts, heat waves, pollution, and disease caused by climate change. Through this internship, students will gain deep experience in restoring our human and ecological communities; ecological science; social justice history and dynamics; non-profit operations; community development; and narrative storytelling.
Working alongside the Lenape Indian Tribe near Dover, UD students have helped remove tons of trash and hundreds of invasive trees, and helped design and plant an Indigenous food forest. In West Baltimore, students have spent more than 2,500 hours working alongside local church groups, nonprofits, and the U.S. Forest Service to plant 4,000 trees, build hiking trails, and train elementary and high school students about ecological restoration. In central Baltimore, students have helped grow thousands of pounds of organic produce that is delivered free of charge to local community kitchens, where it is prepared and donated to some of the city’s food insecure communities. In Baltimore County, we have helped a community of Nepalese immigrants build 80 raised beds and plant upwards of 100 fruit trees as they seek to establish a food sovereignty farm.
Working closely with Professor McKay Jenkins and community partners in Delaware and Baltimore, student interns will join inspiring teams engaged in:
- Indigenous land restoration
- Urban reforestation, including invasive removals and tree planting
- Food Justice Farming, including planting, harvesting, and delivery
Internship Requirements: Roughly 20-25 hours per week over a 10-week internship period. Interns will mainly work on-site at various locations in Delaware and Baltimore. Student interns will need a car, or be willing to carpool with fellow team members.
Compensation: A stipend of $5,000 is available for interns.
To apply: E-mail a resume and one-page cover letter that explains your interest in this internship and any related experience to Professor McKay Jenkins, mckay@udel.edu.
Due by: Friday, February 15, 2025. Twenty-minute interviews will be planned for early March.
