2023 Delaware River Watershed Fellowship at Cobbs Creek Environmental Center
Start date: June 5, 2023 End date: August 25, 2023
The Delaware River Watershed Fellowship is a 12 week, paid summer job opportunity designed to introduce young people from local communities to careers in environmental education. Fellows are hired at one of 23 environmental education centers across the Delaware River Watershed. Fellows participate in training sessions to help prepare them for a summer of helping people connect with nature and informing their local communities about issues affecting the Delaware River, the source of drinking water for 13 million people living in the region.
Cobbs Creek, a member of the Alliance for Watershed Education (AWE), is seeking to hire a Fellow from West and Southwest Philadelphia, Yeadon, Millbourne, or Upper Darby to help connect with local community members around protecting the Delaware River and its waterways.
Position Location: Work will be centered at Cobbs Creek Environmental Center, in Cobbs Creek Park at 63rd & Catherine Sts. The Park runs from City Avenue to below Baltimore Avenue and encompasses two creeks and a wetland.
Compensation: Fellows are paid $15.50/hr, 35-40 hours a week over the summer.
Duties:
- Fellows will participate in a 3 day watershed education training, at the Pocono Environmental Education Center (overnight, June 14-16.) http://www.peec.org/ (Depending on Covid limitations at the time, some or all of this training may take place virtually.)
- Fellows will help their host Center lead programs and activities, whether in-person or virtually, for community members and visitors to their site.
- Fellows will attend virtual webinars as well as in-person meetings with Fellows from other AWE Centers.
- Fellows will be paired with mentors from AWE Centers as well as past Fellowship alumni. Fellows will check in with their mentors twice a month.
- With guidance from their supervisor and mentors, Fellows will focus their efforts on a specific Capstone Project and present their work at the end-of-program Summit event (August 18).
- Fellows will document their progress by completing a short log report every week.
The Cobbs Creek Fellow will specifically:
- Greet visitors to Cobbs Creek Park on behalf of the AWE Watershed Partnership.
- Work with various groups attending Center’s Summer Programs
- Help maintain grounds around the Center building as well as its gardens and orchard.
- Lead (or assist with) environmental education and programming in Cobbs Creek Park for individuals, families and groups.
- Assist with current science data collection efforts and record keeping.
Qualifications and Experience:
- Age 18+ by June 5, 2023 start date.
- A background in environmental education is not required.
- Combine skills you bring .with the work we need
- A positive attitude and willingness to greet visitors and start conversation with strangers.
- Occasional weekend hours may be required; but would be offset by week day comp time.
- Able to travel along the paved and 5 mile Cobbs Creek Park trail system.
- Valid state driver’s license required OR proficient with public transportation.
Essential dates:
- June 5 – 9, 2023: Fellow start date at Cobbs Creek. (Fellows may arrange with their Supervisor to begin any time within the first week of the program.)
- June 14 – 16 : Required Watershed Stewardship Training (overnight) at Pocono Environmental Education Center. (Meals, transportation and accommodations provided.)
- August 18: Watershed Fellowship Summit (location to be announced).
- August 25: Last day of Fellowship (Fellows may finish their term of service any time after the August 20 Summit as needed.)
How to apply:
Email a resume and cover letter, after visiting our Facebook page to learn more about Cobbs Creek to George Ambrose, Supervisor
Application Deadline: Friday, April 28, 2023
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More about Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Education Center
(Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Education Center’s mission is to improve the health and vitality of the Naylor’s Run/Cobbs Creek Creek park and watershed — which includes neighborhoods in West, and Southwest Philadelphia and Upper Darby, Yeadon, and Millbourne in Delaware County, Pennsylvania — by engaging our communities in education, stewardship, restoration, and advocacy. We work with a wide variety of social and neighborhood groups including the Boy and Girl Scouts and local churches and mosques.
More about the Alliance for Watershed Education
Organized in 2016, the Alliance for Watershed Education of the Delaware River is a regional initiative of twenty-three partnering environmental education centers, funded and supported by the William Penn Foundation. Each of these centers is located along the Circuit Trail or a major connecting trail, and on waterways throughout the Delaware River Watershed in Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
This position is made possible through the support of the William Penn Foundation.