AmeriCorps Educator
Two Openings Available - One Full-Time and One Half-Time

Nahant Marsh Education Center is seeking a motivated, outgoing person with a background in youth services, natural resources, biology, parks, recreation, or in community organizing, administration, or communications. The person must have strong communication skills and a desire to work with diverse groups of people, especially youth. This is an excellent opportunity for an individual to gain valuable experience in education and conservation.

Members would serve between our regular business hours with the occasional evening program.

Nahant Marsh has partnered with Iowa AmeriCorps 4-H Outreach since 2010. In 2021-2022, members serving at Nahant Marsh have delivered more than 500 educational programs to youth across the community. 

Full-Time - 1,700 hours - approx. 32-40 hours per week*
$17,000 Living Allowance
$6,495 Education Award (upon completion of the term)
12-Month Term: September 7, 2022 - August 31, 2023 (start and end dates are flexible)
Health Care and Child Care included 

Half-Time - 900 hours - approx. 15-20 hours per week*
$9,000 Living Allowance
$3,247.50 Education Award (upon completion of the term)
12-Month Term: September 7, 2022 - August 31, 2023 (start and end dates are flexible)

*Hours vary depending on the time of year.


Full-Time Position Description 

Members will spend 30-50% of their time in the following two ways:
a. preparing and developing educational activities and lessons.
b. Interacting with visitors in the education center; this includes providing interpretation about the preserve and services provided.

The other 50% of the members' time is dispersed facilitating educational programs on field trips, outreach visits, public programs, expos, and virtually. 

  • Develop 4 new program activities and facilitate existing environmental education public/weekend programs that target youth and families in the area.
  • Develop 4 new program activities and facilitate existing monthly preschool programs on-site and during outreach visits.
  • Develop 4 new program activities and deliver existing educational programs for at least 2 homeschool groups that meet onsite 1-2 times monthly.
  • Deliver at least 50 environmental education programs during field trips, outreach, virtually, and at summer camps.
  • Enhance and expand youth and/or family programs in the winter season and during school intersessions.
  • Develop hands-on STEM activities for public expos and special events like the Bald Eagle Day (January), school winter carnivals (February), Quad City Youth Conference (February), Spring Celebration (April), Youth Summertime Expo (July), Monarch Release Party (September), etc.
  • Coordinate volunteer opportunities as it relates to environmental education and conservation. 
  • Develop and/or strengthen existing partnerships with local institutions.
  • Track data for initiatives and monthly performance reports.
  • Create and lead virtual learning opportunities like webinars, video conferences, and educational videos in the winter season.

 

Half-Time Position Description 

Members will spend 30-50% of their time in the following two ways:
a. preparing and developing educational activities and lessons.
b. Interacting with visitors in the education center; this includes providing interpretation about the preserve and services provided.

The other 50% of the members' time is dispersed facilitating educational programs on field trips, outreach visits, public programs, expos, and virtually. 

  • Develop 2 new program activities and facilitate existing environmental education public/weekend programs that target youth and families in the area.
  • Develop 2 new program activities and facilitate existing monthly youth programs such as Toddler Tales and Homeschool
  • Develop 2 new program activities and deliver existing educational programs weekly to after-school programs
  • Deliver at least 30 environmental education programs during field trips, outreach, virtually, and at summer camps.
  • Enhance and expand youth and/or family programs in the winter season and during school intersessions.
  • Develop hands-on STEM activities for public expos and special events like the Bald Eagle Day (January), school winter carnivals (February), Quad City Youth Conference (February), Spring Celebration (April), Youth Summertime Expo (July), Monarch Release Party (September), etc.
  • Coordinate volunteer opportunities as it relates to environmental education and conservation. 
  • Develop and/or strengthen existing partnerships with local institutions.
  • Track data for initiatives and monthly performance reports.
  • Create and lead virtual learning opportunities like webinars, video conferences, and educational videos in the winter season.

Ideal Candidate Characteristics 

  • Enjoys being in the company of children
  • Leadership
  • Communication skills
  • Public Speaking
  • Patience
  • Problem-solving skills
  • Caring personality
  • Organization skills
  • Enjoys outdoor recreation
  • Familiar with local flora and fauna
  • Ability to perform a variety of tasks outside in various weather

Education and Experience Requirements:

  • Education and experience in camp, youth programs, recreation, working with children, or in a related field
  • First AID/CPR Certification (can be obtained)

Deadline to apply: August 26
To apply, email your cover letter and resume to Amy Loving, Director of Education, aloving@eicc.edu.


LSAMP IINSPIRE Summer Research Intern 

THE INTERN EXPERIENCE

  • Get dirty and gain hands-on experience performing research!
  • Contribute to ongoing research projects or submit project ideas of your own
  • Research ideas include monitoring populations of turtles and bats; telemetry studies of threatened species; native prairie and pollinator surveys; water quality and hydrology investigations; goat-grazing studies; and more…
  • Collect data and create a poster to communicate your results
  • Improve your skills reading and writing a scientific literature
  • Include your research experience on your resume
  • Qualifying students earn an hourly wage (See Requirements)
  • Internships are 12 weeks long and typically begin in late May
  • Scheduling is flexible; opportunities to begin earlier are available

ABOUT LSAMP IINSPIRE

The Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) is an NSF-funded program designed to diversify the nation’s workforce in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Nahant Marsh participates in the Iowa Illinois Nebraska STEM Partnership for Innovation in Research and Education (IINSPIRE), an alliance comprised of 16 colleges and universities in the Midwest that aims to increase students’ success by providing research opportunities.

REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATION

All graduating high school seniors and current college students are welcome to participate. Students that satisfy the following requirements are eligible for compensation:

  • U.S. citizen or permanent resident
  • Minimum college GPA of 2.5 or high school GPA of 2.7
  • Major in a STEM discipline
  • Member of an underrepresented group, including Black or African-Americans, Alaskan Natives, American Indians, Hispanic Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Native Pacific Islanders.

Qualifying students will be compensated at $15.00 per hour and approximately 15-20 hours will be available weekly

For more information, including a full list of accepted institutions, visit the IINSPIRE website.

Application period for 2022 has closed. 

Click here for a flyer.

Natural Resource and Research Intern

We are seeking applicants for our summer 2022 natural resource internship. The two available 40 hour per week intern positions will consist of 20 hours of natural resource work per week at Nahant Marsh as directed by the Natural Resource Manager. The interns will also work 20 hours per week performing Rusty Patch Bumblebee surveys and monitoring in the Quad Cities area as determined by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Application period for 2022 has closed.