BLM - Acoma Community Outreach and Environmental Education Individual Placement

Title: BLM - Acoma Community Outreach and Environmental Education Individual Placement

Stipend: $500.00/week living stipend and $200.00/week housing stipend ($1,400.00 Biweekly before taxes)

Term: 6/24/2024 – 4/11/2025   42-week service term.

Reports to: BLM New Mexico Youth Lead

Location: Pueblo of Acoma, New Mexico

Status: Full Time, 1,200-hour AmeriCorps Service Term 

Benefits: AmeriCorps Education Award of $4,826.50 after each successful completion of service term. Professional Development Funds and Public Land Corps Hiring Certificate. Professional Development budget.

Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps’ Mission 

Our vision is to lead our Nations back to ecological and cultural well-being by engaging underrepresented Indigenous youth and young adults in conservation service programs that reconnect participants to the land, their cultural heritage, and their traditions. We work to remove barriers to participation, education, and employment by partnering with local community organizations, agencies, and institutes of higher learning to create paid service and career training opportunities, personal and professional development, and pathways to postsecondary education and employment. *Ancestral Lands serves local tribal communities in the regions we operate.  Preference will be given to Native American Applicants. *

Bureau of Land Management Mission 

BLM's mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. In the National Conservation Lands units of the BLM, conservation, interpretation and education are a top priority of the BLM. Working with youth, through service, interpretation and education, the BLM’s goal is to inspire environmental advocates and stewards to help protect America's Public Lands.

 
Program Overview: 

BLM - Acoma Community Outreach and Environmental Education Individual Placement would be based in the Pueblo of Acoma. They will work alongside and shadow Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and partner agency’s like the National Park Service (NPS), to gain an understanding of surrounding public lands and local resources available to the public. Individual Placement will participate in National Association for Interpretive (NAI) –Certified Interpretive Guide training course. After initial training and shadowing period, the individual will perform outreach efforts with surrounding community and local schools to develop an outdoor education/interpretation project to inspire outdoor stewardship on a local level. An outcome of the overall experience of the Intern is to create an Outdoor Education Program- for outdoor for school children from the Pueblo of Acoma; based on community needs and wants. The intern will research programs that are already instituted in which they can expand or enrich existing programs (for example the Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps Hiking Club, and Acoma Farm Corps).

Essential functions and responsibilities: 

The intern’s goals for their time will include: 

1.      Work alongside (shadow) Bureau of Land Management staff to learn about interpretation and National Park resources to better understand opportunities to collaborate on program development for the surrounding communities.

2.      Attend National Association for Interpretation (NAI)- Interpretive Guide Course for Nationally recognized certification.

3.      Develop ideas for an education and outreach program in environmental and heritage to deepen youth connection to place and public lands. Make contacts with community members and school staff to establish and enrich partnerships and discuss collaboratively- needs in community for place-based education.

4.       Recommend the structure and shape that the project should be like over the next five years, including funding opportunities to pursue.

5.       Work alongside existing programs in the Community of Acoma- Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps example: (hiking club, farm corps, and other initiatives) Support and provide capacity for program operations that relate to Outreach and Education.

General Qualifications: 

·        Desire to inspire the next generation of environmental stewards.

·        Love of the outdoors and willingness to guide others in exploring public lands and learning from the environment.

·        Desire to learn and develop interpretive and environmental outreach plans and curriculum. Ability to write and understand lesson plans and documents is preferred but not required. 

·        Willingness and interest in learning about different jobs and specialties within the BLM which may involve shadowing and working with different BLM specialists in their field work.

·        Ability to work independently, but also able to communicate needs when support and guidance is required.

·        The successful applicant must be reliable, punctual, and self-motivated and able to work independently, both via telework or in person, with limited supervision after initial training and assignment of tasks. 

·        The applicant must be able to lift and/or move up to 30 pounds occasionally, up to 10 pounds frequently, and/or up to 50 pounds constantly. The applicant must be able to maneuver and operate in a mixture of office work and fieldwork. This includes frequently traversing uneven terrain and the ability to walk, balance, stoop, kneel, bend, reach, push, pull, and/or grasp in variable weather conditions and situations that may require a moderate amount of physical exertion. 

·        Applicant must have a visual acuity and valid license to operate motor vehicles and to determine the accuracy, neatness, and thoroughness of work assigned. Applicant must be able to receive detailed information through written and/or oral communication and convey important spoken and/or written instructions accurately and effectively. 

The minimum qualification is for the candidate to have passion for the outdoors and for inspiring the next generation in environmental stewardship. Preference will be given to those with Experience working with children in either a personal and/or work setting.  Applicants will be considered if they are currently pursuing education or possess a combination of work (lived experience) and education (equivalent of associate degree) in related subject-matter. 

This program is available to all, without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity or expression, political affiliation, marital or parental status, genetic information, and military service. Where a significant portion of the population eligible to be served needs services or information in a language other than English, the recipient shall take reasonable steps to provide written material of the type ordinarily available to the public in appropriate languages.

Requirements: 

·        Valid driver’s license 

·        21 years of age or older

·        Pass State and Local Background Check

·        Participate in occasional offsite in person/virtual meetings, trainings, and presentations. The minimum qualification is for the candidate to have passion for the outdoors and for inspiring the next generation in environmental stewardship.

·        U.S. Citizenship or Permanent Resident Card, INS form I-551 

·        A passport indicating that the INS has been approved it as temporary evidence of lawful admission for permanent residence A departure record (INS 194) indication that the INS has approved it as temporary evidence of lawful admission for permanent residence. 

To apply, please submit an updated resume and letter of interest along with your online application. 

If you have any questions, please reach out to Ancestral Lands Individual Placements Program Coordinator, Shonto Greyeyes at shonto@conservationlegacy.org