Working as a two-person team with our partners at the Monarch Joint Venture, interns will participate in 9 months/26 weeks of monitoring and habitat assessment for monarch butterflies on and near Department of Defense lands in priority locations in the upper Midwest. They will design and facilitate outreach and education programs that foster cultural connections and awareness of monarchs, pollinators, and migratory species in diverse communities and with Blue Star Families. A special emphasis will be placed on monitoring habitat for monarchs on or near military installations and Department of Defense lands based on conservation priorities. Interns will be required to attend training in monarch monitoring and sampling strategies. As monitoring sites are established, interns will navigate to the pre-selected sites to perform monarch and vegetation surveys using a standardized protocol. Environment for the Americas (EFTA) will provide guidance on community outreach and engagement practices, training on co-designing engagement programs with community groups, and developing culturally resonant activities for multigenerational audiences that lead to conservation action.

During the internship, the intern will:

• Conduct monarch and vegetation surveys on Department of Defense lands.
• Develop community community partnerships and facilitate education programs
• Create weekly blog posts shared on social media informing on internship experience and work projects.

The intern will have the opportunity to train in:

• Performing counts of monarch host plants (milkweeds)
• Identifying plant species and recording their frequency
• Examining milkweed plants for monarch eggs and caterpillars
• Performing counts of adult monarchs.

Field data collection will include:

• Techniques in conducting field surveys.
• Data collection involves walking a series of transects at each site and recording the information within 1-m2 quadrats, examining milkweed for monarch eggs and larvae within a 1-ha area, and recording adult monarchs observed along a transect or incidentally.

Outreach and education programs will include:

• Identifying and developing community partnerships, especially with Blue Star Families
• Co-developing culturally resonant educational activities with and for community groups
• Lead culturally relevant interpretive talks and educational events
• Communicate with their cohort, EFTA staff, government agency staff, and the public.

EEO Statement Environment for the Americas provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.