Urban Forestry Internship

About the Alliance

The Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay (Alliance) is a regional nonprofit organization whose vision is clean streams and rivers flowing through resilient landscapes, cared for by the people who live, work, and play in the Chesapeake Bay watershed; and whose mission is to bring together communities, companies, and conservationists to improve our lands and waters. The Alliance was founded in 1971 and has offices in Annapolis, MD, Lancaster, PA, Washington, D.C., and Richmond, VA. The Pennsylvania office is focused on the Susquehanna River and Potomac River Basins in Pennsylvania and New York.

Job Description

This term position is intended to be flexible to accommodate individuals actively engaged in higher education (though this is not a strict requirement of the position). As such, hours during spring (February-May) and fall (August-November) semesters will be up to 10 hours per week, and hours during summer (May-August) will be up to 32 hours per week.

The position is intended to provide real-world experience and training in urban and community forestry while assisting the Alliance in urban forestry endeavors in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The intern will be supervised by a certified arborist and will receive training and resources to eventually take the test to become one themselves once they have enough work experience. Work duties will also be excellent training for a future role in urban forestry; interns will assist with community outreach, conducting community tree inventories, identifying tree planting opportunities, identifying pruning and maintenance needs, assisting with tree planting and care, invasive plant ecology, and more. Interns are welcome to use this role to meet capstone or other degree requirements of their program. Transportation around Lancaster County, with a focus on Lancaster City and Columbia, is essential.

Specific Duties of this Position:

• Assist with tree planting projects and early tree establishment in the field
• Assist with routine maintenance tasks of newly planted urban trees
• Assist with community tree inventories and analysis
• Assist with tree-related education and development of outreach materials for the public
• Learning about arboriculture and urban forestry
• Collaborate with Alliance staff to support other Alliance programs as directed

Minimum Qualifications & Experience:

• Interest in a potential career in arboriculture, urban and community forestry, environmental education, conservation, or a related field
• Ability to tolerate wide range of environmental conditions, including high heat/humidity, and full workdays spent outdoors
• Quick learner, with desire to learn plant identification and management techniques
• Reliable transportation within Lancaster County, with a focus on Lancaster City and Columbia

Expected skills to be gained over internship:

• Tree and other native flora identification
• Community tree inventory methodology and application
• Invasive plant identification and management
• Urban forestry and arboriculture techniques
• Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Tree Tenders training
• Conservation communication
• Applied watershed restoration

Supervision: The Urban Forestry Intern will report directly to the Forests Projects Manager, with additional oversight provided by the Green Infrastructure & Forests Projects Coordinator.

Hours and Location: The Urban Forestry Intern will be based at the Alliance’s Lancaster, Pennsylvania office but will often be working in the field and have some flexibility to work from home. Some evening and weekend work may be required. The work schedule will be 32 hours/week, Monday-Thursday from May – August, and 10 hours/week from August – November. The position will run for approximately 28 weeks, depending on the onboarding timeline.

Wages and benefits: $17.00 per hour. Please note this is a temporary hourly position. Employee benefits such as paid time off and health insurance are not provided. The Urban Forestry Intern will be reimbursed for approved travel and other business expenses.

Term of employment: Flexible start date (anticipated May 11, 2026) – November 21, 2026