Fall 2006 Options
American Type Culture Collection
Contact: Dr. David Emerson
Phone: 703-365-2804 (office) or 703-365-2700, ext. 2360 (lab)
E-mail: demerson@gmu.edu or demerson@atcc.org
Website: http://www.atcc.org/
Location: GMU Prince William Campus, Discovery Hall 354 (office) or 354 (lab)
Position open: 1
Dr. Emerson’s lab investigates morphological, metabolic and molecular characteristics of iron-oxidizing bacteria (FeOB) and FeOB communities. The intern would assist in an ongoing microbial survey of a local iron seep. Duties would include sampling, recording measurements of various site parameters, measuring total iron, total dry weight and cell numbers on a weekly basis. There is ample opportunity and potential for the internship to evolve into a longer term research project.
Note: Parking at PWC is plentiful. The same GMU parking decals for the Fairfax campus work for this campus as well.
Arlington County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services
Contact: Aileen Winquist
Phone: 703-228-3610
Email: awinquist@arlingtonva.us
Website: http://www.arlingtonva.us/departments/EnvironmentalServices/EnvironmentalServicesMain.aspx
Location: Arlington County
Position open: 1
The intern will assist staff from the Arlington County Department of Environmental Services with a variety of tasks related to watershed protection and water quality.
- Assist with distributing educational materials on stormwater pollution prevention to businesses;
- Conduct stream monitoring in Arlington County;
- Help lead stream monitoring field trips for 4th and 6th graders;
- Assist volunteer groups to conduct storm drain marking;
- Help coordinate the Water Steward Team volunteer program.
Audubon at Home of Northern Virginia
Contact: Kevin Munroe, Program Coordinator & Staff Naturalist
Phone: (703) 256-6895
Email: aah@asnv.org
Webpage: www.audubonathomenva.org
Location: Packard Center, 4022 Hummer Road, Annandale, VA and various project/event sites around Fairfax and Arlington counties
Positions open: 1
Audubon Society of Northern Virginia is a local, non-profit environmental organization dedicated to the conservation of birds, other wildlife and the habitats they need to survive in Northern Virginia. We are a local chapter of National Audubon Society and participate in many of their programs. Interns would assist Mr. Munroe with the execution of the Audubon At Home in Northern Virginia program, designed to encourage and work with local property owners on creating wildlife habitat and engaging in environmentally responsible land management practices. Specific projects interns would work on include land management conferences, native planting projects at schools, businesses and churches, native plant sales, educational presentations and various office-related tasks. Work would take place at our Annandale office, various project locations spread around the area and some work could be done from home.
Note: Must be able to provide your own transportation and feel comfortable driving around Northern VA. Should also be comfortable talking and working with a variety of people in different settings.
Bull Run Mountains Conservancy, Inc. (BRMC)
Contact: Michael Kieffer, Executive Director
Broad Run, Virginia (Prince William County). ~35 minutes from GMU
Email: mk@brmconservancy.org
Website: http://www.brmconservancy.org
Positions open: 2
Bull Run Mountains Conservancy, Inc. (BRMC) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1995 to protect the Bull Run Mountains through education, research, and stewardship. The staff at BRMC conducts professional-caliber research, offers public programs for all ages on the ecological, historical, and cultural value of the Bull Run Mountains and other natural communities, delivers a comprehensive Youth Outdoors Program, and maintains 10 miles of hiking trails. Interns are welcome and appreciated to assist in current research projects, develop their own research, assist in public and Youth Outdoors programs, and participate in trail maintenance and invasive species removal. BRMC has had as many as five interns work with the staff in any given year.
Following is more detail of some of the projects at BRMC:
Research
- BRMC works in cooperation with Virginia's Division of Natural
Heritage to carry out a three-year lepidopteran (moth) study
to provide a baseline of moth species present on the mountains
to determine the effects past gypsy moth spray programs may have
had on the diversity of moths and to identify rare and noteworthy
species that can assist in obtaining better management controls
of future outbreaks. From April to November we place four moth
traps in the strategically located places on the mountain. Our
staff and interns delicately sort the collected moths then send
them to DNH for complete identification.
- Once a season, BRMC workers test the water quality from the
perennial streams that originate on the mountain and are part
of the Chesapeake watershed. We have increased our research to
include sites that lie in the heart of development occurring
in Prince William County. This past fall we examined Kettle Run
in Fauquier County at a proposed high school site. Citizens for
Fauquier County (CFCC) hired us to provide this baseline in hopes
that they can encourage the best development practices to minimize
the effects of the construction on Kettle Run and a rare great
blue heron rookery.
Public Programs
- Halloween Safari is a fabulous opportunity to see the Bull
Run Mountains at night. This three-day event is a non-scary walk
through the woods where participants encounter "animals" who
deliver a theatrical performance of their life. It's educational
and quite entertaining for all ages. Interns who like to perform
are welcome to be animals native to the area such as raccoon,
beetle, flying squirrel, bobwhite, and rattlesnake. Also, this
event would not happen for the 40 volunteers who help lead groups
of people through the trails, maintain the two campfires, play
music on their own guitars, hand out snacks, set-up, and clean-up,
face paint, and register participants. Halloween Safari is October
20, 21, and 28 (the last two weekends of October.) Call right
away if you are interested in volunteering 703-753-2631. It's
an extraordinary event!
- The Forest Breakfast hikes entail educational walks through
the mountains followed by a five-tree breakfast served by a campfire
in the woods. The topics of the walks include historical sites
in the "Old Home Sites" walk, migratory birds in "Birds, Battles, and Breakfast", and spring wildflowers in the "Mother's Day Hike".
Interns who like to cook in the breath-taking kitchen of nature
have an opportunity to do so for 30 people. Also, interns may
assist in the research preparation for the walks and help lead
a walk.
To view more public programs, view our website at www.brmconservancy.org.
Youth Outdoors Program
- Nature camps are offered to kids ages 8-12 throughout the
year from 9am-4pm. During the summer months BRMC offers Herpetology
Camp (two day) and Summer Nature Camp (week long). Winter Nature
Camp is offered just before the Christmas Holiday break and again
on Presidents Day Holiday. Interns who like to work with kids
are encouraged to help out. The staff at BRMC keeps the campers
entertained, educated at a high level, and disciplined in all
camp activities which include a day-long hike to High Point,
building a salamander/tadpole pond, discovering macro-invertebrates,
examining vegetation in a study plot, keeping a nature notebook,
creating nature crafts, and playing games. It's typical to have
several campers bring in their own terrariums and/or pets to
share with the group.
- Throughout the school year area students come to BRMC on field
trips to learn more about adaptations, orienteering, geology,
freshwater and terrestrial ecology, entomology, and bird and
bat house workshops. Interns interested in working with school
children elementary through high school have such an opportunity
to assist the naturalists in these programs. Call BRMC to find
out dates available.
Stewardship
Capital Region Earth Force
Contact: Jennifer McDonnell
1908 Mount Vernon Ave, Second Flr
Alexandria, VA 22301
Phone: 703-519-6867
E-mail: jmcdonnell@earthforce.org
Web: http://www.earthforce.org/section/offices/capitalregion/
Location: Northern VA
Positions open: 4
Capital Region Earth Force (CREF) engages young people as active citizens who improve the environment and their communities now and in the future. CREF is seeking four fall interns to assist area middle and high schools participate in the national Global Rivers Environmental Education Network (GREEN) program. Field and classrooms experiences will take place Monday-Friday. Training and guidance will be provided. Students will work with Jen in the classroom and then can transition to becoming leaders of the activities based on their comfort and ability level.
Interns will:
- Coordinate the logistics for school water monitoring studies
- Assist teachers and students in the field as they monitor
- Conduct classroom activities with students to teach the principles
of watersheds and water monitoring (e.g. enviroscapes)
- Develop educational activities for use by middle school students
to teach the principles of watersheds and water quality
Clean Fairfax Council
Contact: Rosemary Byrne, Executive Director
Email: rcb@cleanfairfaxcouncil.org
Webpage: www.cleanfairfaxcouncil.org
Location: Clean Fairfax Council office, Fairfax Government Center and Fairfax County Public Schools
Positions open: 1
Clean Fairfax Council is a private nonprofit organization dedicated to the education of the citizens of Fairfax County on issues relating to litter prevention and recycling. As part of our outreach education program, presentations are made in the schools. There are 11 programs that can be presented (view some of these at: http://www.cleanfairfaxcouncil.org/school.htm). An intern is needed to contact the schools, set up the programs and present the programs to grade levels. Training will be provided.
Earth Sangha
Contact: Lisa Bright
Email: lbright@earthsangha.org
Locations: Springfield area and various around NOVA
Website: http://www.earthsangha.org/
Position open: 2
The Earth Sangha is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity committed to practical environmental action as an expression of the Buddhist perspective on life. They operate a Wild Plant Nursery, in which they are growing native plants for ecological restoration in the Washington, DC, region. They are developing a 20-acre preserve in northern Virginia as a “Native Arboretum”—a living field guide to the flora of our region. And they are helping to restore forests and streams at various sites throughout northern Virginia. They also maintain a weekly schedule of meditation classes and discussions, in which they explore the meaning of meditation and its relevance to our daily lives. Even though their work is based on Buddhist ideals, they are not a religious organization in the conventional sense of the term. Many of their members and volunteers are committed to other religions, or have no apparent religious commitment at all. They attract people from varied backgrounds because their meditation sessions are nonsectarian, and because they strive to base our environmental work on the best available science and policy.
Interns are needed to work on one of two projects - or a combination. These include working at the native plant nursery or working as a "conservation gardener" in natural areas. If you like working with plants and are interested in helping to conserve our native flora, then working at the nursery could be a great fit for you. The Earth Sangha Wild Plant Nursery is a unique forest restoration resource in the Washington, DC, area. The nursery serves local restoration efforts by producing batches of seedlings that are genetically diverse, locally adapted, and representative of the full spectrum of our native flora. The annual production now exceeds 7,000 native trees, shrubs, and herbs, from over 60 species, and our inventory continues to expand. The nursery is supplied by their own seed collection effort, which focuses exclusively on local, wild, native-plant populations. The nursery is maintained almost entirely by volunteers. Volunteers collect seeds together, plant them, care for the plants, do various nursery construction projects, picnic regularly, and indulge in a great deal of irrelevant but interesting conversation. For more information, e-mail Lisa Bright, at lbright@earthsangha.org or call her at (703) 764-4830.
Forest gardening is ecological restoration work. Interns would assist volunteers in the process, working at various locations. This includes planting from a very diverse supply of native species and extensive invasive alien plant control. Conservation gardening is a way of learning about native flora and re-establishing it at the same time. You would work mostly in riparian (stream-side) and flood-plain forests. Some botanical knowledge is helpful but not necessary—you'll be introduced to the plants.
Fairfax County Park Authority - Invasive Management Area Program
Contact: Katherine Frederick
Phone: 703-324-8681
E-mail: kfred1@fairfaxcounty.gov
Web: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/resources/nrp-ima.htm
Location:
Northern Virginia
Positions open: 2
Fairfax County Park Authority IMA (Invasive Management Area) is a pilot program that utilizes community volunteers to manage 20 park property sites. Ecological surveys are done and site plans are written up to establish target invasive species for removal and control. FCPA IMA is seeking a fall intern whose primary focus will be organizing community service projects for small groups and to assist in educating the public regarding the non-native, invasive plant problem facing our community. Training and guidance will be provided. Students will work with Kathy in the office and field.
Interns will:
- Assist volunteer coordinator and site leaders in the removal
and monitoring of invasive species, followed up by planting natives.
- Organize community service projects.
- Educate the public about the effects of non-native, invasive
plant and animal species.
- Participate in outreach opportunities regarding non-native,
invasive plant and animal species.
- Conduct research and correlate invasive species data
to be used in educational flashcards.
- Develop presentations to take to local home owner’s
associations as educational tools.
- Coordinate final gathering to celebrate a successful pilot
program.
Fairfax County Park Authority - Riverbend Park
Contact: John Callow
Email: John.Callow@FairfaxCounty.gov
Location: Great Falls
Website: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/riverbend/
Position open: 1
Potential projects could include working with removing invasive plants, doing salamander monitoring, stream monitoring, and other wildlife related studies. They could also use assistance with school and public programs.
George Mason University Herbarium
Contact: Dr. Andrea Weeks, Assistant Professor of Plant Systematics and Conservation Biology
Email: aweeks3@gmu.edu
Webpage: http://mason.gmu.edu/~aweeks3/
Location: Fairfax GMU Campus, Krug 16
Positions open: 1-4
The Ted R. Bradley Herbarium, located in Krug Hall, is a collection of over 60,000 plant specimens and contains invaluable baseline ecological data about the changing composition of Virginian plant communities. Like most herbaria in the state, its holdings are not digitized and are an under-utilized and under-appreciated resource known only to a handful of professional botanists. Interns will assist in gathering data about the collection (databasing, basic GIS mapping) or in raising public awareness of the collection (web-design) and will be trained in natural history collections management. These activities will also support ongoing grant-development for the long-term growth of all Virginia herbaria. During the Fall semester, up to four students could be mentored individually over 2-4 hour blocks of time per week, which would be flexible to accommodate students’ schedules.
George Mason University - Native Plants Project
Contact: Michael Galvin, GMU Dining Services Representative to GMU Environmental Task Force
Email: mgalvin@gmu.edu
Location: GMU Fairfax Campus
Positions open: 2
This is an opportunity for students who want to do their service learning on campus and be involved in GMU’s Campus Ecology initiative. Participants in the Native Plants Project will help design and carry out a planting project on the GMU campus using plants native to the Northern Virginia region. The goals of the planting are: 1) to promote ecological restoration efforts and enhance sense of place on a campus undergoing rapid and profound development; 2) to develop interpretive materials that offer learning opportunities for all members of the GMU community; 3) to beautify campus.
The Native Plants Project is a collaborative effort involving members of GMU’s Environmental Task Force, GMU’s student Environmental Awareness Group, graduate students from GMU’s Environmental Science and Policy program, and the local native plant nursery Earth Sangha. Students who choose this service learning option will engage in and learn about ecological restoration, campus greening, planting and caring for native flora, and landscape design as curriculum.
George
Mason University - Shared Research Instrumentation Facility
Contact: Tom Huff.
Email: thuff@gmu.edu
Location: CAS Life Sciences
The Shared Research Instrumentation Facility
Room 225D, Prince William 2
10910 University Blvd, MSN 4D7
Manassas, VA 20110
Note: Parking at PWC is plentiful. The same GMU parking decals work
for this campus. There is also a free shuttle bus that runs all
day from the Fairfax campus. http://www.gmu.edu/univserv/shuttle1.htm.
Position open: 1
Tom Huff, a PhD candidate at GMU, is developing laboratory and field methods for determining the presence and quantities of pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) in surface water ecosystems in the Northern Virginia and Washington metropolitan region. PPCPs are of recent concern, and their presence has been found in hundreds of streams, lakes and rivers throughout the US and in Europe. PPCPs include antibiotics, hormones, household chemicals and pesticides which enter the environment through sewage disposal and runoff from agricultural activities. PPCPs can impact the health of surface water ecosystems and well-documented effects include incidents of male fish that have developed eggs, skewed male/female ratios in aquatic organisms, lowered sperm production and environmental bacteria that have developed resistance to antibiotics.
Work on this project will include assisting research activities in the lab and in the field including field trips to local streams possibly including the Shenandoah River, the Rappahannock River and the Anacostia River watersheds. Field work will include monitoring pH, temperature and total suspended particles as well as on-site sample collection. Lab work will include learning fundamentals of sample processing and instrumental analysis with mass spectrometers. A general knowledge of chemistry is encouraged.
George Mason University Wetland Ecosystem Laboratory
Contact: Dr. Ahn
Email:
cahn@gmu.edu
Website: http://mason.gmu.edu/~cahn/
Location: GMU Fairfax Campus
Position open: 1
Assist Dr. Ahn's Wetland Ecosystem Laboratory with research in ecological functions of created and restored wetlands. We have several created wetlands in northern Virginia in addition to a few natural wetlands under our monitoring for their ecological structure and
functions. The main components of the study includes investigations and monitoring in wetland hydrology, soil and water chemistry and vegetation patterns. The work will involve field trips to local wetlands, sample collection (vege, soil and water), and lab analysis for soil and water nutrients. The student will have a great opportunity to learn about how wetlands work and how we can create and restore them. More focus will be given to soil sample collection and analysis for basic physicochemical parameters. The student will assist a graduate student for lab and field work scheduled in EVPP 644 Wetland Ecology and Management class to be offered in Fall 2006. More information can be found in Dr. Ahn's website where there is an annual report of Ahn Wetland Ecosystem Laboratory available.
Lake Braddock Secondary School - AP Environmental Science
Contact: Maureen Harding
Email: Maureen.Harding@fcps.edu
Webpage: http://www.fcps.edu/LakeBraddockSS/
Location: 9200 Burke Lake Rd Burke, VA 22015
Position open: 1
Interns will assist the AP Environmental Science teacher prepare lab and field activities and help to organize community service projects for 240 junior/senior high school students. They will help to organize and participate in field trips to a local lake and local wastewater treatment plant. The primary focus will be organizing community service projects for small groups. Projects can be geared around your interests and may include stream work, water quality, tree plantings, etc. An ideal candidate must enjoy working with teenagers and teaching them to care about their environment and about conservation.
Reston Association
Contact: Nicki Foremsky
12250 Sunset Hills Road
Reston, VA 20190
703-435-6560
Email: Nicki@reston.org
Website: www.reston.org
Location: Reston Association Central Services Facility in Reston, Virginia near the Dulles Toll Road.
Position open: 1
Intern will have the opportunity to help organize and participate in a wide range of lake management and watershed outreach projects including a fish inventory of Reston’s four lakes, educating the community about the stream restoration projects planned for 2007, invasive plant identification and control, and stream monitoring. Interns will work closely with Reston Association staff and gain substantial hands-on experience in natural resource management, environmental education and more. Specific projects and activities may vary based on student interest and skills.
Please contact Nicki Foremsky, Watershed Manager, 703-435-6560, Nicki@Reston.org
South County Secondary School - AP Environmental Science
Contact: Deborah Buffington
Email: deborah.buffington@fcps.edu
Webpage: http://www.fcps.edu/southcountyss/
Location: 8501 Silverbrook Road Lorton, VA
Position open: 1
Interns will assist the AP Environmental Science teacher prepare lab and field activities for over 100 junior/senior high school students. In addition to classroom activities, the interns will go on field trips on September 18-19 to Prince William Forest with Bridging the Watershed Organization to help students with macroinvertebrate sampling and water quality chemical testing at two stream sites. ( I could use 3 interns for each day for this field trip). Each site will have approximately 25 students to work with. Interns can also help with the Environmental club after school activities such as tree plantings, planting of a native wildflower garden and help monitor the Friends of the Occoquan river clean up on one Saturday in the fall. Interns can also help arrange other field trips to the waste water treatment facility and drinking water facility in Lorton. Interns may help develop lessons using GIS Arcview software and assist with water quality monitoring of the local stream Silver Brook. An ideal candidate must enjoy working with teenagers and teaching them to care about their environment and about conservation.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Contact: Ryan Albert
Phone: 202-564-0763
Email: albert.ryan@epa.gov
Webpage: http://www.epa.gov/
Location: Washington D.C. and home
Position open: 1
Are you interested in working on policy or scientific issues related to runoff from urban areas, construction sites, or industrial areas? The Environmental Protection Agency’s Water Permits Division has identified several discrete projects that could be worked on by undergraduate, short-term interns. Exact projects would vary dependent upon an intern’s background and qualifications. Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
- Reviewing an existing EPA internet publication and making
recommendations to EPA staff for appropriate updates
- Taking and compiling photographs of Best Management Practices
in the field for use in EPA reports, presentations, and publications.
- Creation of GIS layers and maps for use in outreach materials.
- Researching updates and advances in specific best management
practices and applications and preparing an annotated bibliography
with your results
All interns will be assigned an EPA mentor and will finish their terms with the option of briefing EPA stormwater staff and management on their assignment and results.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
4401 N Fairfax Drive
Arlington, VA 22203
Office of Strategic Planning & Performance Management
Contact: Bob Batky
703-358-2456
Position open: 1
PROGRAM: The Office of Strategic Planning & Performance Management is located within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Fisheries and Habitat Conservation (FHC) Program. The FHC Program conducts activities to help fulfill the Federal role in wetland assessment and conservation, habitat restoration, control of invasive species, contaminant assessment and remediation, fish passage, fish hatcheries, and assessment of the impacts on the environment of projects conducted by other Federal agencies.
SCOPE: Analysis and development of recommendations to improve effectiveness and efficiency in the Fish and Wildlife Service’s FHC Program. Focus is in public policy areas of accountability and budget-performance integration at the national level.
DUTIES: Analyze performance measures, strategic plans, and activity-based cost codes to improve their utility in describing program performance and tracking work. Prepare draft presentations of findings for briefing of high level Program Managers.
REQUIREMENTS: High level analytical and organization skills. Competence in writing and preparation of presentations. Ability to work with MS Excel; with MS Word; with MS Powerpoint; and with various off-the-shelf databases.
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
Contact: Dr. Greg Noe
Phone: 703-648-5826
Email: gnoe@usgs.gov
Webpage: http://water.usgs.gov/nrp/proj.bib/jharvey.html
Location: Reston
Position open: 1
Assist with research in the USGS Wetland and Aquatic Ecosystem Biogeochemistry Laboratory. Our research focuses on the processes that control nutrient retention and transport in wetlands and rivers. Interns would assist with sample preparation for chemical analyses of water, sediment, soil, and plants.
City of Fairfax
Help create a database of all the stormwater management facilities within the City of Fairfax. There are currently around 150 which we would like to catalogue in a database and eventually incorporate into the City's GIS system. More information to come.
Bureau of Land Management - Meadowood
Contact: Theresa Jefferson
More information to come.
Madison High School
Contact: Dick Gongaware
More information to come.
National Park Service - George Washington Memorial Parkway
Contact:
More information to come.
HOME
| SCHEDULE | INTERNSHIPS
| READINGS |
