Summer 2019 Internships
The Freshkills Park Team is looking for a Development Intern, Climate Change Research Intern, Public Art Intern, and Education Intern to join the staff at the project’s lower Manhattan headquarters this summer. These four part-time positions will involve site visits and provide opportunities to collaboratively contribute to ongoing park planning and project implementation. We offer weekly supervision, a supportive work environment, and interaction with staff from different disciplines. Interns walk away with knowledge of NYC Parks and Freshkills Park, along with experience working on solid projects that have life after the internship. Graduate students are preferred but qualified undergraduates are encouraged to apply.
Expected Duration: three month term, dates flexible
Office Location: Lower Manhattan
Hours: 14-21 hours per week (schedule by arrangement)
Salary: Unpaid; school credit depending on school requirement
Please send cover letter and resume to: freshkillspark@parks.nyc.gov
Development Intern
The Alliance seeks a talented and qualified intern to work with the Park’s small staff in our lower Manhattan headquarters and support fundraising for capacity building and signature programs and projects. The internship offers an opportunity to understand the inner workings of park and resource development to support exciting new initiatives including public art, education, and community programming at this unique site.
In addition, interns will gain skills in:
- Program development
- Messaging strategy
- Artist project management and production
- Prospect research
- Grant writing
- Funding databases
Responsibilities:
- Work with senior staff to cultivate new sources of organization and program support including grants and sponsorship opportunities
- Pitch and develop stories for blog and social media posts
- Assist assembly of materials for planning meetings
- Attend team meetings, interagency meetings and planning sessions
- Assist with grants database maintenance, prospect research to identify new opportunities, and package projects for grant proposals
Preferred Skills/Qualifications:
- Knowledge of and interest in contemporary art practices, the environment, and/or waste & recycling
- Ability to work independently and execute delegated tasks as well as communicate progress in a collaborative team environment
- Excellent oral and written communication skills, experience writing for web desirable
- Diligent research capability and detail-oriented
- Familiarity with grant writing and non-profit fundraising, community relations and communications strategy helpful
- Experience with database management preferred
- Graphic design skills, experience with Adobe Suite desirable
Climate Change Research Intern
The Climate Change Research Internship offers a unique research opportunity to actively assist with the direction of park projects. The Climate Change Research Intern will aid the park development team in determining new and viable research based projects and in aligning our current projects with science-based climate change agendas.
The Climate Change Research Intern will be responsible for researching opportunities for Freshkills Park to participate in and be informed by current local, regional, and global climate change projects. Working with staff, the intern will develop a roadmap for future climate change research program development, explore funding opportunities to support our work in contributing to these missions, and incorporate the research into the Park’s outreach and education initiatives. This may be in the form of blog post contributions and/or supplemental information for school trips, among others.
Responsibilities:
- Research climate change and sustainability initiatives in the NYC-metro area and beyond
- Assess current Freshkills Park projects and determine their alignment with these initiatives
- Write a report with suggestions for how the Freshkills Park development team can better align projects with climate change and sustainability initiatives, and make suggestions for new viable projects in line with these initiatives
- Contribute to the Freshkills Park Blog with original content
- Opportunities to attend team meetings, inter-agency meetings and planning sessions
- General administrative work as needed
Preferred Skills/Qualifications:
- Interest in climate change policy and urban resiliency initiatives
- Knowledge of and interest in topics in natural sciences, environmental science, sustainability, waste & recycling, climate change, environmental policy
- Familiarity with research strategies and report writing
- Ability to work independently as well as in a team environment
- Exceptional writing and editing skills and attention to detail
Public Art Intern
The Public Art Internship is an opportunity to support foundational elements of the growing art program in order to integrate artists in park development over the next 25 years. The Public Art Intern will have a hands-on role in planning and implementation: organizing a working group, programming a new gallery space, assisting with production, and collaborating with partners. The part-time internship also offers an opportunity to understand the inner workings of Park programming and resource development to support exciting new initiatives in public art at this unique site.
In addition, the Public Art Intern will gain skills in:
- Art program development
- Artist project management and production
- Messaging strategy (visual and written content)
- Prospect research
- Grant writing
Responsibilities:
- Support art program development with original research on practitioners and topics spanning urban studies, art, architecture, design and ecology
- Research and assemble materials on visual artists, dancers, writers, scholars, musicians, architects, curators, collectives, institutes, residency programs, advocates and educators
- Attend site visits for art project and program development
- Attend team meetings, arts working group meetings, interagency meetings and planning sessions
- Pitch and develop stories for blog and social media posts
- Assist with grants database maintenance, package projects for grant proposals, prospect research to identify new opportunities
Preferred Skills/Qualifications:
- Interest in and knowledge of contemporary art, environmental art and social practice
- Strong writing and communication skills; editorial experience
- Diligent research capability and detail-oriented
- Graphic design skills, proficiency with Adobe Creative Suite preferred
- Knowledgeable and active on social media platforms
- Familiarity and ease with A/V (particularly photography and film) and digital media preferred
- Ability to work independently and execute delegated tasks as well as communicate progress in a collaborative team environment.
Education Intern
The Education Internship is an opportunity to support foundational elements of Freshkills Park’s growing education program. The Education Intern will have a hands-on role in the delivery, evaluation, and refinement of the education program offerings: co-leading family STEAM workshops and youth summer programs, interacting directly with the public at community events across New York City in our Mobile Lab (an environmental education laboratory on wheels), and contributing to the development and refinement of STEAM curriculum.
The Education Intern will gain skills in environmental education program development, informal science education program delivery and evaluation, and curriculum development.
Responsibilities:
- Co-facilitate summer STEAM workshops and educational programs on the Freshkills Park project site and offsite at community partner locations
- Co-facilitate mobile lab activities at summer community events across New York City
- Assist in evaluation of summer education programming including collecting, inputting, and analyzing data from program evaluations
- Work with staff to refine educational resources and activities in preparation for fall programming
- Develop strategies to expand audience of science enthusiasts and environmentalists and assist with prospect research to identify new partners and opportunities
Preferred Skills/Qualifications:
- Enthusiasm for environmental science, the arts, and youth development
- Experience teaching formal or informal science education in schools, museums, zoos, botanical gardens, parks or similar
- Eagerness to convey science using creative approaches
- Basic knowledge of topics in natural sciences, environmental science, waste & recycling
- Experience and/or interest working with youth in a diverse, urban setting
- Exceptional writing, communication, and interpersonal skills
- Willingness to work outdoors and some evenings and weekends within allotted hours per week
- Ability to work independently and execute delegated tasks as well as communicate progress in a collaborative team environment
Expected Duration: three month term, dates flexible
Office Location: Lower Manhattan
Hours: 14-21 hours per week (schedule by arrangement)
Salary: Unpaid; school credit depending on school requirement
Please send cover letter and resume to: freshkillspark@parks.nyc.gov
