TTAP Member – Landscape Stewardship Corps – Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site

American Conservation Experience, a nonprofit Conservation Corps, in partnership with the National Park Service’s Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site, is seeking two members to contribute to landscape stewardship projects alongside Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site Staff.

The Traditional Trades Advancement Program-Landscape Stewardship Corps is intended for enthusiastic individuals who possess an interest in gaining experience in the field of landscape preservation or horticulture. No background or previous experience in horticulture is necessary. 

For more information about the National Park Service’s Traditional Trades Advancement Program (TTAP) – Landscape Stewardship Corps please visit: https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1098/landscape-stewardship-corps.htm

For more information about ACE, please visit: www.usaconservation.org.

Start Date: March 4, 2024
Estimated End Date: August 30, 2024
*a 26-week minimum commitment is required *

Location Details/Description: Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site is in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a short walk from Boston’s Harvard Square. The site preserves the remarkable Georgian house where George Washington kept his first long-term headquarters of the American Revolution and where Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote his canon of 19th-century American literature. At the beginning of the 20th century, Longfellow’s oldest daughter, Alice, hired two female landscape architects, Martha Brookes Hutcheson and Ellen Biddle Shipman, to restore the property’s garden so that the famous author would have recognized it. This design remains today. For more information about Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site, please visit https://www.nps.gov/long/index.htm.

Position Overview: The ACE members will work with the park’s lead gardener and dedicated volunteers to care for the site’s cultural landscape by planting shrubs, perennials, annuals and bulbs according to historic planting plans; growing annuals from seed; pruning and trimming trees and shrubs to obtain shape, size and desired growth characteristics; fertilizing and watering based on individual plant needs; mowing grass; hand shearing hedges; weeding; using digital cameras to document the garden throughout the summer and working with the park’s social media team to share the garden and historic landscape with remote visitors.  Additional special projects will include assisting with a major tree replanting campaign and supporting NPS landscape architect colleagues with planning and design for replacement pathways and driveways on site.  The ACE members may expect occasional trips to Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site and John F. Kennedy National Historic Site to help with the landscape there.

This individual placement is meant to facilitate professional development and promotes exposure to land management agencies and networking with professionals. This could include gaining experience in different conservation fields and shadowing different work groups.

Schedule: Monday-Friday, 7:00-3:00. The schedule may change to Sunday-Thursday in the summer for helping with Sunday events held at the site. Sunday start time would be 9:00 AM.

Position Benefits

Living Allowance: The ACE Member is expected to contribute ~40 hours/week and will receive a living allowance of $720/week to offset the costs of food and incidental expenses, dispersed bi-weekly.

Public Land Corps Hiring Authority: Members serving under this agreement may be eligible for a federal hiring authority upon completion of their term of service. PLC projects also include specific eligibility requirements such as age and citizenship. Please contact ACE staff with questions about eligibility, or view general information online https://www.usaconservation.org/epic/#eligibility-requirements.

Housing: Housing is the responsibility of the member and not provided by ACE or the NPS.

Professional Development Stipend: The ACE Member will receive $1,000 of professional development funds that can be used for approved purposes.

Provided Training/Orientation: ACE members will receive position specific training and an orientation outlining ACE policies and procedures, clear guidance on prohibited activities, and networks for support. Specific training will include OSHA-10 Certification and a Landscape Stewardship Fundamentals course.