Delaware Sea Grant is looking to fill a number of internship opportunities for the coming summer and fall months. These are being announced later than desired due to some delays associated with our parent organization. We are currently accepting applications for six opportunities. These include full-time in-person opportunities, hybrid virtual / in-person formats, and part-time virtual opportunities. We are also supporting a pathway program for students in the University of Delaware Associate in Arts program and from Delaware Technical Community College. Undergraduates and graduate students are welcome to apply; we are looking to support students from a range of backgrounds. These internships are intended to provide professional training and networking opportunities that compliment students’ academic career paths. A brief overview of the open opportunities, and two positions that we have already filled, are below. For more information please visit: https://www.deseagrant.org/internships. Please forward this email on to any students that may be interested; they may contact me directly (hauser@udel.edu) for additional information. Thank you!
Currently Accepting Applications
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration North Atlantic Regional Team: Building Bridges to Resilience Data and Tools
A variety of climate change data, information, and tools are available to inform local climate adaptation and hazard mitigation efforts. While many of these products are relevant to flooding and sea level rise in Delaware, many environmental practitioners are either unaware that the resources exist, or do not fully grasp the ways in which the data, information or tools can be applied to their on-the-ground efforts to assist Delaware communities.
Delaware Sea Grant seeks two undergraduate students with relevant coursework in climate science or adaptation, environmental studies, meteorology, engineering, geology, geography, public policy, urban planning, communications, or computer sciences to help educate private sector consultants and engineers on climate information, data, and tools. Interns will be expected to work 20 hours per week for 10 weeks during the summer months and 10 hours per week for 8 weeks during the fall semester. This internship is a remote / virtual opportunity.
Conscious Connections, Inc.: Environmental Education in the City of Wilmington
Conscious Connections Inc., a non-profit 504(c)3, exists to uplift communities through education, exposure, and economic opportunities by supporting healthy living and active community engagement. The primary avenue to achieve these goals is urban farming, which Conscious Connections uses as mechanism to engage youth, uplift communities, and open the door to important conversations about urban and rural land and water connections, as well as composting and environmental sustainability efforts. Delaware Sea Grant is seeking a student intern to assist Conscious Connections in their environmental education efforts at their urban farm in Wilmington Delaware. Approximately 15% of the work will be completed remotely / virtually, while 85% will be performed at the urban farm. Selected interns are expected to work 20 hours per week for 10 weeks.
Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control: Delaware’s Frontline Communities - Where Climate Change Risk and Socioeconomic Vulnerability Intersect
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) Division of Climate, Coastal and Energy (CCE) Climate and Sustainability Programs Section (CSPS) is working to make climate action more equitable across the state of Delaware and recognizes that that communities most at risk to climate change impacts may also be those already facing disproportionate social or economic vulnerabilities.. Delaware Sea Grant seeks a student intern to support the program in identifying frontline communities for targeted outreach, engagement, and collaboration on climate change action. This internship will introduce and expose the intern to the approaches, practices, and challenges of environmental planning at the statewide level and from a governmental perspective. Particular focus will be paid to climate change planning, both in terms of better understanding Delaware’s climate change impacts — specifically, coastal hazards (e.g., sea level rise, tidal flooding) and increased temperature impacts — and determining how such impacts may disproportionately impact Delaware’s communities. The selected intern will work approximately 22.5 hours per week for a 12 week period during either the summer or fall of 2021.
The Delaware Resilient and Sustainable Communities League: Hazards and Preparedness
The Delaware Resilient and Sustainable Communities League (RASCL) is a network of organizations working to support all Delaware communities in taking the necessary actions to thrive in the face of changing environmental conditions through collaboration, information sharing, and technical assistance. Delaware Sea Grant seeks an intern to support the newly established RASCL Hazards and Preparedness Committee with a project aimed at translating technical information and data in order to provide communities with moreaccessible information about natural hazards, sustainable planning, and the State’s efforts to improve community resiliency. The intern will work approximately 15 hours per week for 12 weeks.
Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control: “Pilot” Citizen Groundwater Quality Monitoring Program
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, Water Supply Section issues well and water allocation permits and licenses water well contractors. The Section also oversees statewide drought management, groundwater quality monitoring, and wellhead and source water protection programs. While national awareness of water quality issues and potential contaminants that might affect water quality have risen over the past few years, many citizens of Delaware remain unaware of the “quality” of their potable water source. Delaware Sea Grant seeks an intern to assist Section staff in developing a “Pilot” Citizen Groundwater Quality Monitoring Program where citizens can collect water samples from their drinking water wells and submit these samples to the Department for analysis. The intern selected for this project will specifically assist and support Section field staff responsible for field sampling including water quality sampling associated with the Nanticoke River Watershed Quality Assessment project. These efforts are aimed at determining and increasing consumer awareness as it relates to the quality of their drinking water. The intern will work 37.5 hours per week for ten weeks.
University of Delaware, Department of Geography and Spatial Sciences: Developing the Environmental Education Workforce in Delaware
Delaware Sea Grant is supporting a pathway program for students matriculating into the Environmental Science major at the University of Delaware, specifically focused on students in the University of Delaware Associate in Arts program and from Delaware Technical Community College. This internship program is intended to teach students science communication and teaching skills by co-creating activities and lessons on coastal environmental issues. The goal of the program is to provide critical skills for students that are interested in pursuing future careers in environmental and marine science education. This program is also available for students enrolled at Delaware State University.
Closed Opportunities
U.S. Forest Service: Recreational Birding in Delaware - Economic Consequences of Future Sea-Level Rise and Urban Development
Delaware Sea Grant is supporting an undergraduate intern to assist with an economic recreational demand study under the supervision of Dr. Sonja Kolstoe, a U.S. Forest Service researcher. This effort is intended to characterize the contribution of recreational birding to the economy of Delaware, and how this contribution might shift over time as climate change impacts migratory bird habitat and migration patterns. The student intern is assisting with a literature review focused on non-market valuation, recreational demand methods, survey methodology, and survey instruments. The student intern is also contributing to the development of a recreational demand model, willingness-to-pay estimates, data analysis, and writing tasks. This work is being performed to support the Delaware Sea Grant funded research project: The importance of Delaware Bay near-shore habitats to migratory songbirds and the projected ecological and economic consequences of future sea-level rise and urban development.
Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Division of Watershed Stewardship Shoreline and Waterway Management Section: Delaware’s Hazard Vulnerability
Delaware Sea Grant is supporting an intern to assist the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, Shoreline and Waterway Management Section staff in addressing the vulnerability of Delaware to the coastal hazards of climate change, including sea level rise, flooding, and storm-related impacts. The intern is working to develop the Delaware Flood Planning Tool, which is a GIS-based website that allows users to view floodplain mapping and to download hydraulic models that serve as the basis for mapping. The intern is also assisting with a new Section drone program to collect imagery and data for shoreline, floodplain, and waterway management missions. The intern is specifically developing recommendations for best drone program management, and is currently pursuing their own FAA-UAS license.