Our internship and workforce development programs provide mentorship, technical training, and community to STEM students who are representative of New York City’s population and aspiring toward careers in conservation science.
By offering paid technical and professional development training to diverse intern cohorts, we hope to create new opportunities for young New Yorkers to pursue and succeed in green jobs.
Since 2016, we have provided 140 paid internships to over 100 students from the City University of New York (CUNY).
In 2022, we piloted our high school Student Urban Nature (SUN) paid internship program in Forest Park, Queens. In 2024, the high school SUN program expanded to Staten Island, and we offered our new workforce development program to CUNY students interested in natural resource management.
We offer paid CUNY internships every semester. In the summer, students can apply to participate in an eight-week, full-time urban ecology program. We also offer additional part-time internship opportunities in the fall and spring.
Throughout their internships, CUNY students receive training in plant identification, field ecology, data management, ecological surveying methods, and trail improvement techniques.
Interns also have the chance to hone their professional skills. We offer guidance on resume and cover letter development and the opportunity to network with professionals from organizations like NYC Parks, New York State Parks, Bloomberg LP, local park conservancies, and city environmental organizations.
We found that 80% of job-seeking interns secured employment within six months of completing our program, and 90% of those now work in the environmental field.
Our graduating students have gone on to create a thriving alumni network that continues to share knowledge and steward the environment.
Former public health NAC intern, Julia Rossi, used skills gained during her NAC internship to purse a career in advocacy.
Read more
The Student Urban Nature (SUN) High School Internship is a paid urban ecology internship that is centered around fostering student interest in science and nature by connecting them to their local natural area and the fascinating ecology within them.
By engaging with high school students who have been historically underrepresented in STEM fields, we hope to provide mentorship and training that will expand their opportunities to pursue careers in the ecology and environmental field.
Students in our program can expect to learn about the foundations of wetland and forest ecology through flora and fauna identification, how data and observations inform natural areas management, and engage with local ecosystems through scientific inquiry, ending the summer by presenting their research findings at an end-of-summer symposium.
The Student Urban Nature Program has two program locations:
NAC is currently accepting applications until January 31st, 2025.
Find Out More About Both Locations(this link opens in new window)
Authored by Tracy Ye, Souvik Basak, Justin Meikle
Research conducted in Forest Park, Queens
Authored by Farhin Chowdhury, Victor Kamrowski, Timothy Duren
Research conducted in Forest Park, Queens
Authored by Kaden Pook and Darla Hatem
Research conducted in Staten Island Greenbelt
Authored by Junyi Tan, Julian Wilson, Miguel Vega
Research conducted in Staten Island Greenbelt
In fall 2024, we’ll launch a program for CUNY students eager to gain more hands-on experience in natural resource management and to kickstart their careers. This year-long program allows students to specialize in research or field work, and to pursue additional training and certifications that will make them more competitive to employers in the green sector. What makes this program unique is its long-term cohort model, which trains passionate students for local jobs soon after they graduate from a CUNY school.
Our CUNY internship program partners with NYC Parks; CUNY; New York State Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation; Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy; Science and Resilience Institute at Jamaica Bay; the National Parks Service; the New York Botanical Garden; and City Parks Foundation and its over 50 associated parks and open space partners.
Our high school SUN internship program partners with the NYC Science Research and Mentoring Consortium, Forest Park Trust, NYC Parks, the Department of Education’s Summer Youth Employment Program, Greenbelt Nature Center, the Freshkills Park Alliance, and the Greenbelt Native Plant Center.
Your contribution will help us continue to offer paid work opportunities to STEM students.
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Explore current opportunities and application requirements
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