Student Employment

Student Assistant Positions, Academic Year

 Four student positions are available, two during fall semester and two during spring semester, to assist the CERA Manager with field work (including tree removal, prescribed burning, GPS mapping, vegetation surveys, seed collecting, seed cleaning), and data management and analyses (including Microsoft Access database development and Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping).

For more information, please contact the CERA Manager, Elizabeth Hill.

CERA Summer Restoration Jobs

These 10-week, full-time (40 hours/week) summer positions require a willingness to work very independently and outside under adverse conditions (heat, humidity, biting insects) on restoration and maintenance activities at Grinnell College's 365-acre Conard Environmental Research Area (CERA). The interns are supervised by CERA manager, Elizabeth Hill, and field technician, Bob Groenendyk.

Tasks include:

  • Controlling invasive plant species by hand-pulling and applying herbicides
  • Assisting with research and monitoring projects
  • Conducting biological inventories of invertebrates, plants
  • Monitoring bird nest boxes and snake coverboards
  • Curating natural history collections
  • Mapping using GIS software and a GPS unit
  • Assisting with data entry
  • Maintaining trails
  • Photographing various habitats and seasonal changes in vegetation
  • Assisting with summer tours.
  • Assisting with goat care and handling for an on-going research project.

The position pays $8.25/hour. Start date is Wednesday, May 30, 2012. You must be able to provide your own transportation to/from CERA.

TO APPLY, please send the following to Larissa Mottl, at 1205 Park St., Center for Prairie Studies; electronic applications are welcome via email to mottll[at]grinnell[dot]edu.

  1. Cover letter stating why this sort of summer work appeals to you and any experience you've had completing tasks like those listed above
  2. Your résumé listing work experiences and college coursework completed
  3. Contact information for two references

Application materials are due in April.

For more information, please contact the CERA Manager, Elizabeth Hill.

External Internships

Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge Prairie Builder Summer Internships www.tallgrass.org/

Nature Conservancy's Anna Beal Summer Intern Scholarships www.nature.org/iowa (search for "Anna Beal summer intern scholarship")

Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation Land Stewardship Summer Internships www.inhf.org/