Black Bear Educator-Intern

Looking for the opprotunity of a lifetime? Work with wild bear this summer!

If you are interested in bears, conservation education, educating others, putting in long hours of hard work in all weather conditions and living in the woods with wildlife, this internship is for you!   At the end of the day, you will be dirty, you will be tired, and you will smile knowing that you have made a difference in the lives of bears and have seen things most wildlife enthusiasts only dream about.

We are looking for qualified, passionate interns for the upcoming season at the Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary in the North Woods of Minnesota. The sanctuary offers a one-of-a-kind opportunity for the public to view and learn about wild black bears.We are the only open classroom in the world that has wild american black bears visiting, exhibiting wild bear behaviors.

Housing, food and a stipend are included. There is no fee to intern/volunteer with us. 

Intern Duties:

Morning/afternoon jobs

• Picking up and/or unloading supplies, including 50-pound bags of seed and 35-pound bags of fruit and nuts. Heavy lifting is often a part of the job and is therefore required.
• Daily cleanup of feeding areas and scat removal
• Planting, mulching, weed-eating and other landscape improvement projects
• Preparing and distributing bear food mixtures
• Maintain records on bear activity and behavior
• Photograph individual bears for records
• Bird count survey via ebird.org
• MN annual berry study via MN Department of Natural Resources
• Research projects with a presentation are required. You will work in small groups and will choose from a pre-approved list of potential behavior studies
• Write articles for our newsletter, Bear in Mind
• Prepare educational material for our followers on Facebook and Instagram and our email subscribers
• Weekly in the field programs & field trips will be taken May-July

Jobs during evening/visitors’ hours include:

• Educating the public about black bears, ecology, behavior, practical environmental conservation and land stewardship
• Preparing formal 3-8 minute deck talks that interpret bear behavior and debunk any myths and misconceptions our visitors may have regarding bears
• Execute a prepared 5 minute introductory bus talk on the history of the bears and Vince Shute
• Sale of souvenirs and educational materials in the gift shop and at our visitor center
• Promoting membership to the American Bear Association
• Assisting with admission and parking cars