Traditional Trades Advancement Program – Landscape Stewardship Corps – ROOSEVELT-VANDERBILT NATIONAL HISTORIC SITES

NTERNSHIP POSITION DETAILS: American Conservation Experience, a nonprofit dedicated to providing rewarding environmental service opportunities, seeks young adults interested in exploring the Traditional Trades in partnership with the National Park Service. Learn and advance your horticulture skills to become the next leaders in managing historic landscapes in our National Parks!

The Traditional Trades Advancement Program-Landscape Stewardship Corps interns (2) will work alongside professional horticulturists and arborists at Roosevelt and Vanderbilt National Historic Sites to care for historic landscapes in Hyde Park, NY, learning about plant and cultural landscape maintenance skills. No background or previous experience in horticulture or historic preservation is necessary. A 26-week commitment is required.

For more information about the National Park Service’s Traditional Trades Advancement Program (TTAP) – Landscape Stewardship Corps please visit: DIRECT LINK HERE (TBA in Jan)

For more information the American Conservation Experience please visit:  www.usaconservation.org

LOCATION: The Roosevelt and Vanderbilt National Historic Site in Hyde Park, NY is in New York state’s Hudson River Valley. The site includes the Home of Franklin Roosevelt, the country’s longest serving President; The Vanderbilt Mansion, a Gilded Age estate; Val Kill, the Home of Eleanor Roosevelt and the only National Historic site dedicated to a First Lady; and Bellefield mansion with one of the few remaining residential gardens designed by Beatrix Farrand, the first female landscape architect in the United States. The park features gardens, woodlands, agricultural fields, trails, historic homes and the National Archives of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library – the first Presidential Library in the United States. Hyde Park is a combination of rural and suburban areas 90 miles North of New York City, which is accessible for day trips by Metro-North commuter train. To learn more about the park visit: https://www.nps.gov/elro/planyourvisit/placestogo.htm

POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES: The interns will work with the park’s horticulture team, its volunteers and other park staff – as projects require – in all aspects of garden and landscape care.  Interns will be trained in, and employ, horticulture best practices in a variety of settings including ornamental and food production gardens and historic landscapes. 

• 40 hours a week, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm, with flexibility to include optional weekend and evening hours included in 40-hour week
• Ornamental and food production horticulture (mulching, weeding, watering, trimming)
• Plant identification and diagnosing diseases
• Conserving historic landscape character
• Planting annuals/perennials/shrubs and trees
• Light Pruning

BENEFITS:

• A weekly stipend of $720
• $175 weekly housing stipend will be offered if housing is not available in the park
• $1,000 in professional development funds for training, networking, and/or conferences
• Training historic cultural landscape management and maintenance including plant care, pruning, vegetation identification, and other topics
• Week-long in-person training for full Landscape Stewardship Corps at an NPS site with travel/meal expenses covered
• Professional networking opportunities
• Public Land Corps Hiring Authority

POSITION REQUIREMENTS: 

• Strictly adhere to NPS and ACE equipment training, certification, and safety protocols
• Have a strong interest in history, horticulture and/or the environment and working outdoors
• Ability and willingness to be a positive member of highly motivated team of gardeners
• Participate in NPS’s Landscape Stewardship Corps’ week-long in-person training (June 2024)
• Be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident
• Be 18-30 years old at time of service (veterans up to 35 years old)
• Have a High School Diploma/GED
• Pass fingerprint-based FBI, state criminal, and a national sex offender check
• Be able to provide proof of a driver’s license and complete an MVR check
• Local candidates are encouraged to apply, but being local is not required
• To learn more about eligibility requirements, please visit our website https://www.usaconservation.org/epic/#eligibility-requirements.

PREFERRED: 

• Competitive applicants can hold or be pursuing a bachelor’s degree and/or have relevant experience in subject areas such as landscaping, gardening, agriculture, visitor (public) service/visitor (public) relations, history, museum, preservation, or public recreation work.
• Deep interest in exploring a career in horticulture, landscape management, preservation, or the National Park Service.

WORK ENVIRONMENT: Caring for historic cultural landscapes in National Parks will require working outdoors for extended periods of time in possibly rough terrain, or in periods of heat or cold.  Insects may bite and wildlife is not always predictable.  Certain landscape tools require manual dexterity, and interns should be able to lift to 40 pounds.  National Parks are public spaces and positive visitor interaction is expected.