Community Engagement Intern

Title:  Community Engagement Intern Supervisor: Lauren Ralbovsky, Volunteer Coordinator

Location: On average 30% in-person at the Whatcom Land Trust Bellingham office, 70% co-leading outreach and events in Whatcom County

Hourly Wage: $18.66

Hours/week: Approximately 12 hours/week. Saturdays required with occasional full-weekend work during events, including Northwest Tune-Up and Seafest; flexible schedule throughout the week

Timeframe: June 2025 – End of August 2025; flexible start date dependent on availability

Application: Please email a resume, cover letter, and 3 references to officemanager@whatcomlandtrust.org

Application Deadline: June 13th, 2025

Whatcom Land Trust seeks an intern to join our team for Spring-Summer 2025. The intern will work under the supervision of the Volunteer Coordinator with support from the Outreach and Events Coordinator to play an essential role in supporting the land trust’s mission through direct community engagement. This is a hands-on internship for individuals passionate about land conservation, environmental education, and community involvement. The intern will represent the Land Trust at public outreach events, contribute to communications and educational efforts, and occasionally support volunteer stewardship projects.

Duties:

● Represent the Land Trust at public events to increase awareness of our mission, programs, and volunteer opportunities. Events will include, but are not limited to, the Bellingham farmers markets, the Northwest Tune-Up Festival, and the Reefnet Festival.

● Lead volunteers and community members during outreach activities, supporting them to reach the organization’s engagement goals.

● Assist with communications efforts, including writing event recaps, taking photos, updating our internal database, and supporting social media and newsletter content.

● Support educational community programming by helping with logistics, materials prep, and participant engagement.

● Potential for career development opportunities, including public speaking and event planning.  

Required Skills:  

● Positive attitude and excitement about connecting the community with Land Trust’s mission!

● Great verbal communication skills.

● Able to work independently and consistently meet deadlines.

● Willing to work outside in variable conditions.

● Ability to lift 40 lbs.  

● Valid Driver’s License.

Whatcom Land Trust Statement:

Whatcom Land Trust is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other protected status. Interns bring a welcome perspective to our organization. An internship at Whatcom Land Trust empowers you to confidently move forward in your career path, having a valued voice in our organization.  About Whatcom Land Trust  Whatcom Land Trust, a 501c3 nonprofit corporation, was founded in 1984 to protect natural and agricultural lands in a rapidly developing county. Since then, Whatcom Land Trust has protected more than 26,000 acres through a combination of owned and managed lands, conservation easements, and facilitated transfers and exchanges.  Whatcom Land Trust conserves Whatcom’s natural heritage – its fish and wildlife habitat, marine and freshwater shorelines, parklands for recreation, forests, farmlands, scenic and culturally significant areas.

The Trust accomplishes this in three general ways:

● Legal protection of land throughout Whatcom County.

● Stewarding and restoring to health the 80-plus land trust-owned reserves (approximately 4,000 acres) and 78 conservation easements (6,500 acres) that the land trust holds.

● Engaging people in conservation actions – 400 volunteers contribute more than 1,500 hours of field and organizational work annually, helping Whatcom Land Trust manage its lands, advocating for public funding for parks and habitat and strong public policies to conserve Whatcom’s natural heritage.

What is a Land Trust?

Land trusts are private, independent, entrepreneurial nonprofit, non-governmental organizations that have joined with landowners to protect private land in the United States. There are over 1,600 land trusts operating across the U.S. protecting more than 9 million acres of farmland, wetlands, ranches, forests, watersheds, and river corridors. There are about two dozen land trusts in Washington. Land trusts all have some attributes in common, but each land trust has its own unique working area, priorities, missions and goals.