Description

Position Overview:

A Naturalist Intern’s primary responsibility is assisting and supporting the year-round education team in all interpretation, educational programming, and tours both on and off site.  This position is designed for the college student or recent graduate interested in working in this field whether or not their current degree path is directly related.  In this position interns will have the opportunity to learn and gain skills relative to position duties. This position will also be trained on animal care duties and procedures.  Applications are due January 31st and will be considered on a rolling basis prior to that.  To apply email resume, cover letter, and three professional references with phone and email contact.  View the full position description on our website. 

Position Duties:

• Interpretation and Education
  • Perform daily talks about AWCC and Alaska wildlife to a
    diverse audience of guests
  • Conduct daily walking tours that often include animal interactions
  • Be a step on guide for coaches driving through AWCC
  • Provide informal interpretation at set stations or while
    walking through of the facility
  • Give animal presentations to school groups and private groups
  • Provide interpretation and facilitate positive guest experience at information stations
  • Prepare interpretive program outlines for presentation to the public and AWCC staff
  • Facilitate animal interactions with porcupine, Sitka black-tailed deer, reindeer, moose, and other animals
  • Facilitate positive guest experience by maintaining a positive attitude, smiling, and enforcing guest viewing and animal safety expectations
• Sanctuary Presentability and Safety
  • Planting, weeding and harvesting in garden beds
  • Ensure trash does not find its way into animal habitats
  • Pull invasive plant species & alders
  • Whack weeds
  • Facilitate service-learning groups
  • Clean interpretive signs and buildings
• Assist Animal Care
  • Cleaning enclosures
  • Collect browse, prepare diets, and wash dishes
  • Husbandry and feeding duties as assigned
• Workdays and hours assigned by Director of Education will vary by week; full 40 hours and 5 days per week, maximum 8 hours per day
• Other duties as assigned

Requirements

Required Skills and Abilities:

• Public speaking to large and small audiences while professionally representing AWCC
• Work in a team environment to help achieve AWCC’s goals and objectives
• Exemplify a positive and respectful attitude and strong work ethic
• Open to participating in fun, sometimes silly group and team building activities
• Ability to walk for long hours over uneven terrain providing interpretive talks and information
• Ability to work outside in drastically changing weather environments; it will snow, pour rain, and be hot
• Ability to work front line directly with the public providing information and assistance as needed
• Willingness to learn areas of interest to visitors including local history, geography, geology, and more
• Must be able to work a flexible schedule as needed, including all weekends, early mornings and nights
• Strong communication skills both written and oral
• Strong time and task management skills

These additional qualifications will be considered but are not required for this position:

• Some college or graduate coursework in a related field. Some examples may include: Education, Interpretation, Wildlife Biology, Environmental studies, Natural Resources, Zoological Sciences, Ecology, Animal Science, or other related topics of interest
• Rabies vaccine: depending upon the animals in our care at the time of the internship having this vaccination may lead to more animal care opportunities