Iowa Monarch Crew Member

Position: Iowa Monarch Habitat Project Crew Member (AmeriCorps, ages 18 – 35)
Location: Des Moines, IA
    This is not a residential program; participants must secure housing preferably near the crew location
Service Term: 450- or 900-hour AmeriCorps position.

• Crew Leader: May 20 – December 12, 2024
• Crew Member: May 28 – August 22, 2024 or May 28 – December 12, 2024

Position Summary: A crew of five AmeriCorps members participate in on-the-job training to learn natural resources management skills and put those skills into practice studying monarch butterfly breeding habitat. The crew member position involves physically challenging, team-oriented AmeriCorps service. Habitat projects may include but are not limited to pollinator counts, milkweed stem counts, and maintaining and organization field data. Project sites vary throughout Iowa, including urban settings and wilderness. Service is performed exclusively outdoors and may involve camping for several days at a time.

Hours & Schedule
Schedules can vary, depending on crew location. Crew members should expect to be scheduled for at least 40 hours of service per week. A typical schedule is Monday – Thursday, 7:00 AM – 5:30 PM, including a mandatory 30 minute lunch break which does not count towards service hours. Up to 90% of projects will require overnight travel (4 – 12 consecutive days). Some special assignments (including wildfire response and other emergency response assignments) may require members to deploy for several weeks at a time.  

Benefits:

• Living Allowance: $2,200/month (member), $2,300/month (leader)
• Education Award: $1,824.07 – $3,447.50 (depending on service term), if eligible and upon successful completion of program
• Student loan forbearance (on qualifying student loans)
• Health insurance
• Childcare assistance
• Training, certifications, networking

Qualifications

• 18-35 years old
• Ability and desire to work well with others in a team setting, outdoors and in all weather conditions
• Commitment to upholding Corps values of safety, service, respect, equity, and community
• Dedication to complete the full term of AmeriCorps service
• Relevant experience in fields of botany, wildlife, or another related field; experience identifying native prairie forbs in the Midwest
• Excellent verbal communication skills, attention to detail, ability to enter data accurately onto a mobile device and computer
• Ability to perform the Essential Service Functions, which include but are not limited to:
  • Long (10 hour) days of shoveling, digging, and swinging heavy tools repetitively
  • Long (10 hour) days of chainsawing / brush sawing
  • Long (10 hour) days collecting habitat data
  • Heavy lifting, bending, and carrying up to 50 pounds
  • Walking and working on steep or uneven terrain
  • Working in extremes of heat or cold, in direct sunlight, high temperatures and buggy conditions

• Flexible schedule to accommodate week-long out of town assignments and emergency response
• Must be a US Citizen, US National, or Lawful Permanent Resident Alien of the US
• Must pass a criminal history check consisting of a National Sex Offender Public Website check, a state criminal history check, and a fingerprint-based FBI check. Passing the criminal history check is defined as no positive hits on the NSOPW and no history of violent offenses on the state or FBI checks.
• High school degree, GED, or willingness to work towards obtaining a GED
• Iowa locations only: Must possess or be able to acquire an Iowa Department of Agriculture Commercial Pesticide Applicator License. Corps will provide training and support to obtain license
• Preferred: Experience identifying insects and their larval instars; knowledge of North American milkweed species (ability to recognize common and uncommon species in the field)