New Hampshire Conservation Corps – Field Crew Member

Have you ever wanted to live in a park where you can explore thousands of acres of prime New England Forest? Does the chance to learn conservation and leadership skills and start your career off with a one-of-a-kind experience sound exciting? If you said yes to either of these questions, then the New Hampshire Conservation Corps is the place for you!

SCA NH Conservation Corps:

The SCA NH Corps is a collaboration between the SCA, the New Hampshire Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR), and AmeriCorps. Since 1994 the SCA NH Corps has provided over 1.4 million hours of service to New Hampshire while training young adults to do valuable conservation work. Each year young adult volunteers from across the US, contribute thousands of service hours. This position serves throughout NH, from the Atlantic Coast to the White Mountains and beyond.

The Field Crew Member position is dedicated to hands-on, outdoor conservation projects ranging from trail construction and maintenance to habitat restoration and invasive plant species removal. Each service project trip, or “hitch”, is 11-days in length requiring collaboration as part of a five or six-person crew. Each member will serve as a crew leader for at least one 11-day field project. Upon completion of each hitch, crews return to Bear Brook State Park for a three-day break between hitches. To prepare for field/hitch season members attend trainings to learn the necessary skills needed for the service term and for a career foundation in the conservation field. Additionally, communal living is a large component of this program with simple rustic accommodations at Bear Brook State Park and camping in tents while on hitch.

What makes SCA NH Conservation Corps a unique program:

• NHCC is the SCA’s oldest residential corps program, beginning in 1994.
• Based out of 40+ acre summer camp located in the largest NH state park.
• This is the only SCA corps program to serve with local, state, federal, and non-profit partners.
• Only SCA corps program in the northeast serving with the U.S. Forest Service and in designated wilderness.

Training Season:

This season runs from the start of the position in May through mid-June. During the training season you will learn from experienced staff and instructors as you engage in a wide-ranging curriculum that covers the hard and soft skills needed for a career in outdoor/recreation management. Training includes SCA orientation, carpentry, conservation work skills (trail skills), driver (12 passenger vans and trucks) and trailer training, and Leave No Trace (LNT).

Conservation Season:

This season runs from mid-June through October. During this time members will serve in the field on “hitch” crews of their peers for periods of 11 days (10 service days with 1 day off). Hitches consist of high priority conservation projects with a focus on public lands access, visitor experience and safety, and recreation site protection. NH Corps crews use traditional trail and land management techniques, carpentry, and physical labor to complete an array of projects while camping for the duration of each project period.  Service locations vary from frontcountry campgrounds to backcountry sites.

You will have the opportunity to serve at several of NH’s beautiful state parks and National Forests. These parks may include Monadnock (most hiked mountain in North America), White Lake, Franconia Notch, and Crawford Notch. In addition to federal and state partnerships, the NH Corps works with towns, counties, and non-profit organizations to assist with the management of their public lands. These partnerships allow NH Corps members to experience a variety of projects and settings while working alongside professionals representing a wide array of missions and concentrations, from organizations focused on specific wildlife to towns that are striving to improve recreation opportunities for their residents.   

Some of the specific service tasks may include trail projects such as building bridges, building structures such as staircases and retaining walls with stone, cruising trails to address maintenance needs, and building new trails. Carpentry work is another category during which crews may build Adirondack-style camping shelters, kiosks, and boardwalks. The final category of project work is habitat restoration and public land improvement with projects including invasive species removal, backcountry site assessment, and erosion control.

Professional Development Opportunities

NH Conservation Corps members will have an opportunity to learn many skills, volunteer with local nonprofit organizations and learn from one another. NHCC program partners work in a variety of fields. These career fields include, land management/stewardship, wildlife biology, outdoor recreation, and forestry to name a few. Serving with and learning from these professionals is an invaluable experience that will jump-start your career.

Essential Functions and Duties:

• Attend and participate in all trainings.
• Manual, physical labor for 8 to 10 hours per day, exposed to the elements, lifting 50+ pounds.
• Carry a backpack weighing 60-70 pounds while carrying tools over challenging terrain.
• Ability to hike up to 10 miles per day.
• Operate hand and power tools.
• Ability to be away on overnight trips for 11-days at a time, primarily camping in a tent.
• Serve independently and as part of a team.
• Be a Crew Leader – be a liaison for service partners, coordinate project logistics, delegate tasks to crew members, and complete all paperwork and reporting.
• Comply with all SCA, NH DNCR, and AmeriCorps policies and refrain from any prohibited activities.
• Be an active team player and member of the residential NH Corps program and community.

Marginal Functions

• If eligible, driving 12 passenger vehicles, large trucks, and pulling trailers
• Program facilities maintenance

Qualifications:

Mandatory Qualifications: 

• Must have the ability to work legally in the United States.
• High school diploma or GED or actively working towards either.
• At least 18 years old.
• Available for the duration of the entire service term – must complete at least 900 service hours
• Willing to try new things and learn new skills.
• Live in an intentional community of your peers sharing the living and working space.
• Interest in outdoor recreation and environmental conservation.

Preferred Field Crew Member Qualifications:

• Demonstrate strong service ethic and desire to serve the community
• Applicants should be in good physical condition and should enjoy hard work outdoors.
• Outdoors, manual labor or trail experience preferred but not necessary.

Position Benefits:

• Living allowance amount – $220/week
• AmeriCorps Education Award -$3,697.50 upon successful completion of the 24-week and 900-hour service term for qualifying educational expenses and loans.
• Food, housing, and laundry facility provided for the full duration of the position
• Conservation Work Skills (CWS) – Trail Construction & Maintenance Training
• Leave No Trace (LNT) Outdoor Ethics Training
• Camp Skills
• Leadership Training
• NH State Parks Season Pass

Service Commitment:

• May 12th – October 30th, 2025
• AmeriCorps minimum service commitment is 900 hours

Safety Hazards:

• Outdoor manual labor has a variety of safety concerns that the SCA is monitoring and mitigating on an ongoing basis
• Weather
• Using and maintaining hand and power tools to complete service activities
• Driving large vans and trucks with trailers

If you have any questions, please contact Zach Colatch, SCA NH Corps Trail and Program Operations Specialist, at 603-485-2191 or zcolatch@thesca.org.