Monday, December 14, 2009

Mason Garden Interns

Duration: Spring 2010 Semester, 10 hours per week
Location: Fairfax Campus

Description: Interns will work collaboratively with the Garden Managers to plan the garden (e.g., what crops to grow and the cropping pattern), determine when to plant and harvest; facilitate care for soil and plants, possibly including soil and moisture testing and weed analysis; organize and oversee volunteer work days; research and implement organic solutions to pest and other site-related problems; coordinate sale of produce through appropriate venues, and; manage equipment and supplies. Additionally, interns will seek to identify Mason faculty members with practical gardening experience to solicit advice for best practices.

In addition to performing work related to the daily maintenance of the garden, interns may also design and implement a directed research project, focusing on issues either directly related to the Mason Garden or to sustainable agriculture in the local community. The research projects will culminate in a research paper and a presentation to interested members of the Mason and local community.

Specific Duties:
Manage operations
-Assign tasks to volunteers and supervise their work, while maintaining responsibility for the completion of work.
-Coordinate and oversee community plots, if they are available.
-Coordinate and oversee the use of the garden for environmental education.
-Collaborate with students and faculty using the gardens for research.
-Coordinate and oversee the distribution of food to charity organizations.
-Maintain a positive and motivating atmosphere

Maintain good relations with others
-Collaborate with Sustainability Manager and the representative(s) of the Sustainability Council Food Working Group, seeking their advice and permission whenever appropriate.
-Introduce yourself to neighbors and provide contact information in case of questions or concerns.
-Maintain an appropriate and positive relationship with the greater Fairfax City and County communities.

Promote the garden and its values
-Keep the Mason community informed about the garden and promote its mission and work with public presentations, updates, etc.
-Recruit volunteers for the garden.
-Keep the Mason community and the national campus sustainability movement informed about the garden.

Maintain detailed records
-Records of plants
-What was planted (including what variety of what plant)
-When it was planted (time of year, time of day)
-Where in the garden it was planted (which plot, which part of the plot)
-What was planted around it (companion herbs, other food crops, et cetera)
-What practices were used to plant and maintain gardens (what kinds of fertilizers, mulch, was it watered with rain water or tap water, et cetera)
-People in charge of community plots
-Who was assigned what plots
-Who worked in the garden
-When they worked
-A garden calendar: what should be planted when, list of outstanding tasks, et cetera.
-Write a report summarizing the activities and accomplishments of the garden

Stay informed
-Be informed of what campuses have gardens, their approach and organization, and important ideas and insights, etc.
-Stay informed of best practices in gardening including permaculture and other organic techniques

Qualifications: Interns must be comfortable working outdoors under physically demanding circumstances. Candidates must be:
-Passionately committed to organic gardening and community gardens
-Able to work independently
-Able to recruit, manage, and motivate volunteers
-Able to work effectively with the Garden Managers and other members of the Mason community
-Able to publicize and promote the garden and its value, purpose, and importance on and off campus

First-hand knowledge of organic agriculture practices, field experience in gardening or farming, people management skills, and time management skills is preferred. Prior or current involvement with the Mason Garden is also preferred but not necessary.

Funding: This is an unpaid position. However, interns are encouraged to find outside sources of funding for their positions in the form of grants.

About the organization: The mission of the Office of Sustainability is to use the strengths of George Mason University - innovation, responsiveness, flexibility, and community strength - to provide leadership in environmental, social, and economic stewardship on our campuses and throughout the local and global communities of which we are a part.

About the garden:
Through the hard work and dedication of Office of Sustainability staff members, Service Learners from New Century College, and other volunteers from across the university, the George Mason University Organic Vegetable Garden began in 2009. The Mason Garden serves as a catalyst for conversations about local food production, food security and justice, and overall campus sustainability. The garden is also used for field research and as a teaching tool, giving it a direct tie-in to the curriculum.

The mission of the Mason Garden is to grow organic vegetables for the Mason community. Additionally, the garden seeks to promote increased understanding of local, sustainable, and just food systems and to provide an on-campus field site for the study of organic gardening principles. The Mason Garden also acts a tool used to build connections and share knowledge with the local agricultural community.

Application Instructions: Forward a letter of interest, resume, and the name, phone number and email address of 2 references to Colin Bennett at cbennet6@gmu.edu

Mason Climate Action Team Internships

Duration: Spring 2010 Semester, 10 hours per week
Location: Fairfax Campus

Description: Mason’s Climate Action Team will be a group of students engaged by the Office of Sustainability as part of Mason’s Climate Action Plan Education and Outreach Campaign. The team will be utilized to educate the majority Mason’s student body on the goal of the Climate Action Plan and the projects that it lays out. The Climate Action Team will all also be responsible for engaging Mason faculty and staff members. Through persistent grassroots outreach efforts, the Climate Action Team will be essential in helping Mason become climate neutral. Interns will work collaboratively with Office of Sustainability staff. Additionally, interns will seek to identify Mason faculty members with practical experience to solicit advice for best practices.

The Climate Action Team will be utilized to spread information and messages relevant to The Climate Action Plan Education and Outreach Campaign. Individual team members will be assigned to specific segments of the university and will be responsible for encouraging people in those segments to make the Mason Climate Commitment and keep track of those that do. Additionally, Climate Action Team members will encourage their peers to take steps to reduce their individual climate impact using the instructions set out in the CAP Climate Action Plan Education and Outreach Campaign Strategy Guide. The Climate Action Team will help to organize events, assist in creating educational and promotional materials as needed, and perpetuate the social proof aspect of the campaign.

In addition to performing work related to the daily maintenance of the garden, interns may also design and implement a directed research project, focusing on issues either directly related to the Mason Climate Commitment or to climate change in the local community. The research projects will culminate in a research paper and a presentation to interested members of the Mason and local community.

Specific Duties:
Manage operations
− Assign tasks to volunteers and supervise their work, while maintaining responsibility for the completion of work.
− Coordinate and oversee community plots, if they are available.
− Coordinate and oversee the use of the garden for environmental education.
− Collaborate with students and faculty doing research on climate change.
− Coordinate and oversee the distribution of promotional materials.
− Maintain a positive and motivating atmosphere

Maintain good relations with others
− Collaborate with Sustainability Manager and the representative(s) of the Climate Action Plan Core Working Group, seeking their advice and permission whenever appropriate.
− Introduce yourself to neighbors and provide contact information in case of questions or concerns.
− Maintain an appropriate and positive relationship with outside environmental organizations

Promote the Mason Climate Commitment and its values

− Keep the Mason community informed about the climate commitment and promote its goals and work with public presentations, updates, et cetera.
− Recruit volunteers for the campaign.
− Keep the Mason community and the national campus sustainability movement informed about our efforts.

Maintain detailed records
− Keep records of all activities related to the campaign

Stay informed
− Be informed of what other schools are taking to reach climate neutrality including their approach and organization, and important ideas and insights, et cetera.
− Stay informed of best practices in climate change communication techniques and practices.

Qualifications: Interns must have a basic understanding of climate change, including its cause, effects and solutions. Candidates must be:
− Passionately committed to ending the climate crisis
− Able to work independently
− Able to recruit, manage, and motivate volunteers
− Able to work effectively with Office of Sustainability staff & other members of the Mason community
− Able to publicize and promote Mason’s commitment to climate neutrality including its value, purpose, and importance on and off campus

Detailed knowledge of climate change mitigation practices, field experience with climate change related issues, people management skills, and time management skills are preferred.

The Climate Action Team will receive detailed instruction in order to be able to further train campaign volunteers. The team will work with Office of Sustainability staff members to design the training programs and materials that campaign volunteers will receive. As part of all their outreach efforts, team members will actively recruit campaign volunteers, including faculty, staff and students, to participate in the campaign. When appropriate, the team will work with members of the faculty and staff “Green Reps” program.

In order to fully utilize the capability of social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, the Climate Action Team will help to record video testimonials of influential members of the Mason community in order reinforce the ‘social proof’ aspect of social marketing. The Climate Action Team will also create creative videos showcasing ways that other members of the Mason community can take individual actions to reduce their carbon footprints.

Finally, in order to sustain the interest and engagement of the people working on this campaign, and to recruit more people in to the effort, the Climate Action Team will plan fun, team-building activities. These activities could include hiking trips, movie nights, potlucks, or other similar events.

Funding: This is an unpaid position. However, interns are encouraged to find outside sources of funding for their positions in the form of grants.

About the organization: The mission of the Office of Sustainability is to use the strengths of George Mason University - innovation, responsiveness, flexibility, and community strength - to provide leadership in environmental, social, and economic stewardship on our campuses and throughout the local and global communities of which we are a part.

Application Instructions: Forward a letter of interest, resume, and the name, phone number and email address of two references to Colin Bennett at cbennet6@gmu.edu.

Paid Spring 2010 GIS Internship with the Environmental Protection Agency

Come join us for a 15 week-long intensive internship and academic program in Washington, DC! Accepted students receive scholarships covering the cost of The Washington Center’s program and housing fee for living in furnished housing while interning for the Environmental Protection Agency. Accepted students will be provided a stipend.

Qualifications:

· United States citizenship;
· Currently enrolled as an undergraduate with a GPA of 3.0 or higher; OR enrolled as a graduate student with a GPA of 3.0 or higher;
· Demonstrated experience or coursework in ArcGIS or a similar geographic information systems program;
· Undergraduate students must receive credit for participating in this program (if you have questions regarding this requirement, please contact katie.mckenzie@twc.edu);
· Available for a fifteen-week period beginning January 21st, 2010;
· Demonstrated experience and/or strong interest in working for the federal government.

How to Apply:

Students must submit an online application at http://secure.twc.edu. Once they create a username and log in, they should select “Internship” from the drop-down menu, and select “Apply Now.” Under the Personal Information tab, students should select “Government Scholarship Program.” Students should check the Environmental Protection Agency box. Students must submit official transcripts to The Washington Center. If they have any concerns, they should contact Katie at katie.mckenzie@twc.edu or 202-238-7729.

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis, with a deadline to submit the application by December 17th, 2009. Transcripts may arrive after this date, provided an application has been submitted.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Research Associate, University of Manchester

The Economic and Social Data Service team at the Centre for Census and Survey Research, University of Manchester in Manchester, UK, are responsible for promoting and supporting use of the large scale government surveys in research and teaching. We wish to make a full-time appointment from 1 January 2010 (or as soon as possible thereafter) until 30 September 2012.

You will join the ESDS Government team in promoting and facilitating increased and more effective use of government datasets in research, learning and teaching across a range of disciplines. ESDS Government provides user support, runs user meetings on specific surveys, runs training courses on key topics of interest, on specific statistical packages and on methods of statistical analysis and provides topic-related online course materials and a range of teaching datasets.

Applicants should have a higher degree in social science or statistics or first degree and professional experience, a good understanding of social statistics and survey methods, good organizational and presentational skills and an ability to work with minimal supervision.

The closing date is 4 December 2009.

To Apply: Visit the University of Manchester Web site for an application form and other important information.

Informal enquiries:
Angela Dale, Email: angela.dale (at) manchester.ac.uk

Or

Vanessa Higgins, Email: vanessa.higgins (at) manchester.ac.uk