Deschutes Land Trust, Resilient Lands Internship, Summer 2024
Every summer, The Bill Lane Center for the American West offers many opportunities for Stanford undergraduates (including graduating seniors and co-terms) to work with organizations throughout the West. Through these internships, students can explore careers in natural history, conservation, land use, museum curation, resource management, energy and more.
All internships are full-time for nine to ten weeks during the summer. They are fully funded by the Lane Center with stipends ranging from $7,500 to $10,000.
The Lane Center has placed hundreds of interns in positions across the West since 2005. It has developed strong relationships with host organizations and works hard to ensure interns have successful and enriching experiences.
For more information about the internship program, please visit the FAQs page, or email Education Manager Corinne Thomas.
Details about the summer 2023 cohort of student interns and their placements can be found here.
Student reflections about the internship experience can be found by visiting the Out West student blog and the Lane Center Instagram channel.
Stipend Information:
The Bill Lane Center will provide a base stipend of $7,500 with additional funding for student financial aid and location, if applicable, up to $10,000.
Description of the Organization and the Internship:
The Deschutes Land Trust's mission is to conserve and care for the lands and waters that sustain Central Oregon, so local communities and the natural world can flourish together for generations to come. We envision a future of strong and healthy natural and human communities--where we work together to conserve and care for the lands that make Central Oregon an incredible place to live, work, and grow. Land Trust staff strive to conserve and care for the lands and water of Central Oregon by embracing and practicing these core values: integrity, diversity, quality, collaboration, adaptability.
This summer, join Deschutes Land Trust in exploring how our land conservation efforts enhance the climate resiliency of Central Oregon. Through exploration of recent research, peer-to-peer learning and field work, you will advance the Land Trust’s understanding of how we can quantify our work to temper the effects of climate change.
In this internship, the intern will gain a familiarity with Land Trust program operations including conservation, stewardship and community engagement efforts. Working across programs, the intern will work with staff to refine research questions that will assist the Land Trust in reaching climate resiliency objectives and goals.
Potential research areas include identifying monitoring approaches that support quantifying climate mitigation on Land Trust-owned and restored lands and how we can incorporate climate-smart agricultural practices into our working lands conservation easements. The internship will culminate in a written report of the intern’s findings that they will share with Land Trust staff.
Internship Work Environment:
This is a hybrid internship and about 30% field work and 70% office work.
The intern will work closest with the Land Trust's Conservation team, coordinating as necessary with the Stewardship and Community Engagement teams. The intern will also conduct independent research.
Internship Day to Day:
This position will work across all Land Trust programs to understand organizational climate resiliency objectives and goals and then will work more closely with the Conservation program to identify what information we need to achieve those objectives and goals.
Each week and day may look different but will include a combination of meetings with staff and partner organizations, independent research, field visits to Land Trust preserves and conservation easements. We encourage interns to get out in the field at least once per week. We have summer touring hike programs that the intern can assist with. Our hikes and tours are a great way to better understand the Land Trust's work and get to know Central Oregon!
Internship Overview:
The intern will:
1) Work with Land Trust staff to learn about the Land Trust's objectives and goals related to climate resiliency.
2) Working with the Conservation team, identify, refine and prioritize a list of research topics that will help the Land Trust answer key questions related to our climate resiliency goals and objectives. The Land Trust has a good start on this list but will want to include the fresh perspective of the intern. Some possible questions include: - what monitoring approaches can help the Land Trust quantify carbon sequestration on our protected lands? - How do other land trusts incorporate climate-smart agricultural practices into their working lands easements?
3) Collect relevant information to help answer identified questions. This will include literature review, attending relevant sessions at the Northwest Land Camp conference (https://www.nwlandcamp.org) and personal outreach to partner agencies and organizations.
4) Visit Land Trust preserves and conservation easements to better understand how our land conservation work is connected to climate resiliency. This will include learning about Land Trust restoration efforts and our work conserving agricultural lands.
5) Summarize applicable findings in a written report and present to Land Trust staff at an in-person staff meeting.
Transportation: A car would be helpful but not essential. While a vehicle is not required for this internship (the Land Trust has organizational vehicles that the intern can use for work related activities), exploring the area's recreational opportunities is easier with one and may be desired for commuting to work, depending on where the intern secures housing. Public transportation in Bend and surrounding areas is limited, though the Land Trust's office is located in downtown Bend and many staff bike-commute to work.
Housing: On-site housing is not available for this internship. The Land Trust staff are happy to help the intern in a housing search by reaching out to our networks.
Location: Bend, Oregon
- Work with Land Trust staff to learn about the Land Trust's objectives and goals related to climate resiliency.
- Working with the Conservation team, identify, refine and prioritize a list of research topics that will help the Land Trust answer key questions related to our climate resiliency goals and objectives. The Land Trust has a good start on this list but will want to include the fresh perspective of the intern. (See above for more details)
- Collect relevant information to help answer identified questions. This will include literature review, attending relevant sessions at the Northwest Land Camp conference (https://www.nwlandcamp.org) and personal outreach to partner agencies and organizations.
- Visit Land Trust preserves and conservation easements to better understand how our land conservation work is connected to climate resiliency. This will include learning about Land Trust restoration efforts and our work conserving agricultural lands.
- Summarize applicable findings in a written report and present to Land Trust staff at an in-person staff meeting.
Bill Lane Center internships are part of Cardinal Quarter opportunities and students from all disciplines are encouraged to apply.
The opportunities are full-time (35-40 hours a week) for 9-10 consecutive weeks during the summer.
Specific start and end dates can be coordinated directly with the supervisor.
Please note:
- Students are not permitted to engage in another full-time internship, job, or volunteer opportunity (whether funded by Stanford or otherwise) during this full-time, summer internship.
- Student athletes should confirm the impact of any awarded stipend on their athletic eligibility by contacting the Compliance Services Office prior to committing to a research project or internship.
All undergraduates, including graduating seniors, are eligible. Co-terms are eligible only if they hold undergraduate status.
For more helpful application advice, please visit the BLC’s FAQs page.
Required Skills:
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Conservation Commitment: an interest in or subject matter knowledge of climate change impact, mitigation and adaptation, and/or land conservation.
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Organization Skills: including attention to detail, time-management skills, and the ability to create efficiencies and set priorities.
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Research Skills: with guidance, the ability to search for, find, collect, interpret and evaluate information relevant to specific questions.
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Balanced Work Style: comfortable collaborating with a team on collective goals and in focusing on independent tasks.
Desired Skills:
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Eagerness to Learn/Growth Mindset: willingness to approach work with sense of curiosity and creativity, and to seek out opportunities to learn through experience and practice. Ability to see challenges as an opportunity for growth and adaptation.
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Communication Skills: ability to communicate effectively in writing and in person with a diverse set of partners including landowners and partner organizations. Ability or willingness to learn to interpret technical information and synthesize into compelling and digestible summaries.
Selection of applicants:
Complete applications are screened and finalists are contacted for a first-round interview with staff from The Bill Lane Center for the American West.
The top candidates for the position are then forwarded to the organization for second-round interviews with their potential supervisor and other staff.
Host organizations will then notify the Lane Center of their preferred candidate and that applicant will receive an internship offer from the Bill Lane Center by email.
The applicant is expected to respond promptly (within 48 hours) via email to the offer or the offer will be rescinded.
Once an applicant accepts an offer, they are required to promptly notify all other Stanford and non-Stanford programs to which they have applied that they have accepted another offer and withdraw their candidacy from those other opportunities.