Application Information

Information

Part 1: Application Guidelines
Part 2: Internship Project Descriptions
Part 3: Application Form

PART 2 --- Project Descriptions

Please note that the projects described below are indicative of the types available for each organization. The descriptions are based upon what interns pursued over previous summers.

Students will be matched to a particular organization based on their interests and skills and the sponsoring organization's needs. Also please note that some of the fellowship placements may require the use of a vehicle.

2008 Sponsor Organizations:

Fellowship descriptions change very little from year to year, please read through the 2007 descriptions. Please check back in January for 2008 project descriptions.

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Town of Topsham Department of Planning and Development
The internship position(s) will involve working with the Town of Topsham’s Natural Resource/ Assistant Planner on natural resource inventories and working the Town's Conservation Commission. Topsham is a growing community where there exists the challenge of balancing growth and protecting valuable natural areas. This position will provide hands-on experience for students interested in municipal planning, conservation/ natural resource planning, and creative solutions used by towns to address growth pressures.

Planning Department Internship Project Possibilities:

  • Completion of Conservation Land Inventory and Stewardship
  • Design and Development of Public Access Trail and Park Facilities and Interpretive Amenities
  • Stream Inventory and Survey (GPS and mapping)
  • GIS database enhancement
  • Stormwater analysis (GPS inventory and datatbase)

The intern can work on one of these projects or a combination of them and others that are not defined above as they relate to Planning tasks within the Topsham Planning Office. Many possibilities exist for additional projects to match the interests of applicants.

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Maine Island Trails Association Stewardship Intern
The Maine Island Trail Association (MITA) is a non-profit organization that works to promote environmental stewardship and responsible recreation on Maine’s coastal islands.  MITA is seeking a Psi Upsilon intern to assist with our island management, community outreach and visitor education efforts on the coast from Kennebunkport to the Canadian Maritimes.  The internship will consist of both a field component and an office component and will involve one or more core projects and several other projects in accord with the student’s skills and interests.

Potential Core Projects

(A) Pending grant approval, MITA will launch a pilot Community Island Stewards program this spring in Muscongus Bay.  The aim of this program will be to use the islands as a platform for engaging community members in active environmental stewardship in their own backyards.  The student will work alongside MITA staff to build this coalition of community island stewards.  This will involve helping to develop program goals and objectives, supporting public outreach efforts in the towns located on Muscongus Bay, recruiting and training volunteers and facilitating meetings between MITA and other environmental organizations.  This project will include periodic travel to the Muscongus Bay region and occasional visits to the bay’s islands.
(B) MITA’s flagship stewardship program is its island cleanup program.  During an island cleanup event, volunteers are gathered to help clean island shorelines of human-generated debris carried in by waves and tides.  Annually, the cleanups net several hundred bags of trash and engage dozens of volunteers in hands-on environmental stewardship.  The intern will play an important role in helping implement MITA’s mid-summer island cleanup activities.  The intern will also carry out research on the effects of plastics and other debris on the marine ecosystem and help develop relationships between MITA and one or more research institutions (Bowdoin College, the University of Maine, etc) that might lead to a collaborative study on the impacts and extent of marine debris in the Gulf of Maine. 

Other Projects:
Depending on skills, interests, and availability, the intern may choose to help with any number of MITA’s field and office-based summer activities, some of which are listed below.  The fieldwork likely will involve significant travel and time spent on the water and on MITA islands, including some overnight and weekend trips. The office work will involve both independent and team projects, and the intern will have he opportunity to learn about and engage in many aspects of environmental non-profit work. 

Field Activities: Islandmonitoring, island cleanups and work projects, Casco Bay Caretaker support, workboat management, Leave No Trace education, public outreach, off-site meetings, conferences and seminars. 

Office Activities: GIS mapping, event planning, literature review, article and report writing, data entry and analysis.

The amount of time spent in the field or in the office can vary based on the projects the intern chooses.  The ideal candidate is a student who is seeking environmental non-profit experience, has a passion for exploring and preserving the Maine coast, and who is willing to lend his/her energy and enthusiasm to a variety of mission-oriented tasks.  The intern will work out of MITA’s office in Portland, ME, but periodically will be asked to travel and camp along the Maine coast on project assignments. 

For more information about MITA, please visit http://www.mita.org/.

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Town of Brunswick Department of Planning and Development
The internship position(s) will involve working with the Town of Brunswick's Natural Resource Planner on natural resource inventories and implementation of the Town's adopted Open Space Plan. Brunswick is recognized as a leader among Maine communities for its proactive approach to resource management. This position will provide hands-on experience for students interested in ecological survey techniques, municipal planning, and creative solutions used by towns to address growth pressures.

Planning Department Internship Project Possibilities:

  • Land for Brunswick's Future Program (conservation land acquisition)
  • Research and photo-document individual properties in the Town’s Conservation Land Inventory
  • Design and Development of Public Access Trail Facilities and Interpretive Amenities
  • Research, write and update Conservation Commission/Natural Resources web pages on town website
  • Water Quality Improvement and Testing
  • GIS Trail/Open Space Mapping

The intern can work on one of these projects or a combination of them. Many possibilities exist for additional projects to match the interests of applicants.

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Maine Audubon (based in Falmouth and Scarborough)
Maine Audubon is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection, conservation, and enhancement of Maine’s wildlife and wildlife habitats through the involvement of people Since its inception in 1843 as the Portland Society of Natural History, Maine Audubon has become a leader in Maine’s environmental community, advocating on behalf of Maine’s wildlife and its habitat. Maine Audubon has also been recognized as a leader in environmental education for over twenty years through work at our nature centers, sanctuaries and in communities throughout the state.

Maine Audubon will hire 1 intern with either the Conservation Department or Environmental Education Department.

Wildlife Program Assistant
The student will work primarily at the Gilsland Farm Audobon Center in Falmouth, with some time in the field. Student will have primary responsibility for organizing and executing the annual state wide loon count, including working with regional coordinators, updating and presenting the "Learn About Loons" slideshow to local organizations, and fielding questions about loons from the public. Other projects student will support include the Northern Forest Important Bird Areas Project, the Maine Owl Monitoring Project, the Maine Amphibian Monitoring Project, and Least Tern and Piping Plover Monitoring Project. Field work will include evening surveys for amphibians and birds, and day time surveys for beach nesting birds. GIS experience helpful. Student should be organized and able to work independently. Some evening and weekend work required.

Environmental Education Intern
The Gilsland Farm Audubon Center attracts thousands of visitors annually. This diverse environmental center offers the public a variety of natural history and environmental education programs. The goal of the environmental center is to be a community resource for natural history and environmental education. The environmental education internship position will involve working with Maine Audubon’s Staff Naturalist and Environmental Education Director. This position will provide hands-on experience for students interested in environmental education.

Gilsland Farm Audubon Center has over two miles of trails, and thousands of visitors each year, but very little interpretative materials to guide those visitors around the property or to introduce them to the ecology of the area. In this position, intern(s) will conduct the necessary surveys and develop interpretative materials to be used at our Center.

Environmental Education Intern Project Possibilities:

  • Mapping invasive species on property- and developing associated management plans
  • Mapping community types at Sanctuaries for use in trail maps etc.
  • Conducting bird surveys and habitat analysis at site nominated as Important Bird Areas
  • Conduct pond, plant, dragonfly, butterfly- species inventories at GFAC, and follow up interpretative handouts
  • Develop interpretative trail maps, using community types etc.
  • Develop curriculum for vernal pool explorations
  • Create natural history fact sheets
  • Create on-line resource of natural history information for students, teachers, and the general public. Develop appropriate links etc.
  • Begin planning/research for hosting a Biodiversity day
  • Answer natural history question telephone calls and emails
  • Assist with bird banding research project
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Natural Resources Council of Maine (based in Augusta --- car pooling may be arranged)
The Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) is seeking a Psi Upsilon Intern for summer 2008.  NRCM is the state’s leading environmental advocacy organization.  We have a broad range of major initiatives underway in the areas of addressing global warming, promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency, curbing threats to Maine’s North Woods, reducing threats from toxic pollution, and protecting water quality and Maine’s rivers (see www.nrcm.org).

The Psi Upsilon Intern will work on one or more meaningful projects in these issue areas, depending on the candidate’s strengths and interests and NRCM’s organizational needs in summer 2008.   The intern will work under the supervision of the Advocacy Director or one of the Project Directors.  The intern will get an inside view of how the environmental policy process in Maine works, and how NRCM mobilizes facts, media attention, decision-makers, and the public to contribute to the protection of Maine’s environment.  Prior Psi Upsilon Interns have had a great experience, and NRCM has appreciated having them on board for a summer.

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Maine League of Conservation Voters (based in Augusta)
The mission of the Maine League of Conservation Voters (MLCV) is to make the protection of our natural resources a priority for Maine voters, candidates, and elected officials.  We are an independent, non-partisan organization with a unique role in Maine's conservation community.  The Maine League outlines the real impact of decisions made in the Maine Legislature; increases public awareness of the performance of legislators on environmental matters; endorses and helps to elect strong environmental candidates, and gives Maine voters the information they need to hold their elected officials accountable.

This position offers the opportunity to learn about non-profit advocacy, coalition building, and understanding the Maine legislative process.  Interns are encouraged to attend trainings and workshops.  In addition to projects, interns may assist in a variety of office support projects including data entry, website management, newsletters/quarterly mailings, and day-to-day tasks that are critical to a non-profit running smoothly. 

Possible projects include:

  • Produce and distribute our Environmental Scorecard
  • Evaluate, endorse, and help to elect strong environmental candidates
  • Make the environment a campaign issue for candidates
  • Organize and participate in our Advocacy trainings - helping people understand Maine government, the legislative process and how to be involved.
  • Help to pass bills that reduce toxic chemicals in everyday products and help education voters, candidates and legislators on this issue
  • Coordinate our Maine ECO email alert system - write alerts, work with our ECO coalition, and build our email action network
  • Support Environmental Priorities coalition work (coalition of 25 organizations that we facilitate that chooses legislative priorities for the session).
  • Work on and distribution of publications including our Conservationist’s Guide to Maine Government, our briefing book on key environmental issues facing Maine, and our annual Environmental Scorecard. 
  • Day to day help with websites, database, donations, newsletters, and other daily tasks of running our non-profit.


Designing a project that you are interested in that furthers the mission of our organization. For example, an outreach project focused on ways to engage youth in the political process or working on our websites to make them more accessible and engaging to people of all ages.  Please call to talk about possibilities.

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The Maine Coast Heritage Trust (based in Brunswick)

Please note that this position may not be Description from 2007, check back later for revised description
The Maine Coast Heritage Trust (MCHT) is a statewide land trust, founded in 1970. The Trust has protected over 7,500 acres and collaborated on numerous land conservation projects. MCHT operates the Maine Land Trust Network; provides technical assistance on land protection projects to communities, private landowners, public agencies and land trusts and holds an annual land conservation conference and professional development workshops. MCHT publishes brochures, booklets, technical bulletins, quarterly mailings, Conservation Options, and houses a library (slides, books, tapes). The Trust informs other land trusts of important legislative issues and works with the Maine legislature and congressional delegations. MCHT maintains a Maine land trust database and publishes the "Maine Conservation Land Trust Directory and Resource Guide." The Trust presents the annual Land Heritage award recognizing outstanding voluntary land protection contribution in Maine.

The Maine Coast Heritage Trust’s mission statement is:
"Maine Coast Heritage Trust works to conserve coastal and other lands that define Maine’s distinct landscape, protect its ecology, sustain its outdoor traditions and promote the well-being of its people."

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