Each year 2-8 internships are available for college students interested in pursuing a career
in natural resources. Typically internships are hosted during the summer months, but may
also be hosted during the spring, fall or winter if a qualified applicant is interested.
An intern is a college student or recent graduate that works full-time for 12 weeks or more to acquire experience or college credit. Interns may be provided with housing depending upon availability. Interns will receive a stipend funded by the Friends of Great Swamp, the Mushett Family Foundation or federal grants.
Click here if you are interested in applying for an internship at Great Swamp NWR.
Please
see usajobs for information on jobs in the government and other career opportunities.
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| Credit: USFWS |
Pictured back to front: 2010 interns Paula O'Briant, Alex Schaich Borg, DeAndre Augustus, Andrew Ferreira, Kim Barrett, Tony Henehan, and Emily Thornton. |
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Internship Experience
By: Andrew Ferreira
As a biological intern, the great majority of my duties were to assist the Refuge’s staff and volunteers in wildlife habitat restoration and wildlife monitoring. Wildlife habitat restoration typically consisted of removing exotic, invasive plants from various habitats and removing trees from bog sites in order to sustain bog turtle habitat. Wildlife monitoring included, but was not limited to: surveying, radio tracking, and protecting nest sites of bog turtles, wood turtles, and box turtles; monitoring blue bird boxes; banding Canada geese, ducks, and mourning doves; assisting with frog-call, bat, and white-tailed deer surveys; electro-fishing for survey purposes; and collecting metamorphosed frogs for federal research. Additionally, I publicly presented a lecture on how to identify the amphibians of the Great Swamp at the new Helen C Fenske Visitor Center. When volunteers were in short supply, I contributed to various maintenance projects throughout the Refuge.
Working with threatened and endangered turtles proved to be the most exciting and valuable work for me. Conservation and monitoring of wood turtles and bog turtles gave me a great sense of accomplishment. Additionally, helping other interns on their projects and assisting volunteers with miscellaneous tasks served to round out the experience and made an even better learning experience. I had a great experience at Great Swamp, and I am glad I was given the chance to work here!
By: Andrew Ferreira
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