The Program

Increasing community and individual stewardship is a critical component of efforts to restore local streams, rivers, and the Chesapeake Bay. The Trust has long focused on stewardship, awarding more than $90 million in grants in our 30-year history to engage residents of our region in efforts to restore and protect our natural resources.

As part of this effort, the Chesapeake Bay Trust is proud to partner with the State of Maryland, BGE an Exelon Company, and the National Park Service to administer the Chesapeake Conservation Corps Program (the Corps Program). The purpose of the Corps Program is two-fold: The first is to enable stipend Corps Members to work with Host Organizations and communities to implement a wide variety of environmental projects and programs including those in the fields of restoration, environmental education, forestry, sustainable agriculture, energy conservation, and community engagement. The second is to provide leadership and training opportunities for young adults who may pursue environmental and conservation careers. The specific objectives of the Corps are to:

1) Promote, preserve, protect, and sustain local streams, rivers, the Bay, and the region’s other natural resources;

2) Provide young adults with opportunities to become better professionals, leaders, and citizens through meaningful service to local communities and the Chesapeake Bay region;

3) Mobilize, educate, and train young adults to work with communities and schools to promote environmental and energy conservation actions needed to preserve, protect, and sustain the environment;

4) Provide opportunities for young adults, especially disadvantaged young adults, to be trained for careers that will be part of the emerging green economy; and

5) Advance the diversity and influx of young talent to both increase the accessibility to environmental careers and build the capacity of organizations working on Chesapeake Bay issues.

The Internship

We seek a dynamic, energetic, and student-centered intern to help accelerate the growth of the Chesapeake Watershed Semester. The primary responsibilities of the position include serving as the Marketing and Communications Intern for the program, assisting with classroom and field instruction, and assisting teachers with planning, facilitating, and debriefing overnight Expeditions during the fall experiential semester.

For the spring semester, the intern will continue to focus on Marketing and Communications of green initiatives at the Gunston School, assist in expeditionary trip planning for the Gunston School’s Chesapeake Bay Studies week, work with students in the environmental club to plan the school’s annual Earth Day celebration, and pursue one self-designed project to improve the sustainability of the Gunston School and the Chesapeake Watershed Semester.

During the summer, the role of the internship will focus on providing environmental education support to summer camps run by the YMCA and Horizon’s of Queen Anne’s County, maintaining community gardens, preparing for the upcoming fall Chesapeake Watershed Semester, and completing the intern’s capstone project.  

We seek candidates who are passionate about the environment, enthusiastic about working with teens, and view social media marketing, web design, and graphic design as effective tools to galvanize youth leadership in environmental restoration.

The Outcomes
The Gunston School is a leader in environmental teaching and learning in our region and launched the Chesapeake Watershed Semester to help fulfill this goal.  The Corps Member will be an integral part of the team providing the growing program with this amazing, immersive experience. CWS aims to cultivate reflective and confident students and leaders who can promote regional and global environmental sustainability through their understanding of scientific, social, cultural, and political systems.  Through time as a student teacher, mentor, and capstone project partner, our Corps Member will help to fulfill this mission. Within the larger Gunston School community, the Corps Member will help Gunston fulfill its mission to  to educate ethically and environmentally minded scholars, citizens, and leaders for our globalized society through their role in planning and delivering experiential environmental education programming focused on the Chesapeake Bay.

Upon the completion of the internship, candidates will have the necessary knowledge and expertise to pursue a career with an environmental education non-profit with a diverse set of skills including marketing, development, admissions, and education. Informally, the Corps Member will undergo work skills training as they participate in Chesapeake Watershed Semester and Gunston School programs.  The intern will work with the faculty member in their subject area to determine their role in the classroom.

Learn more and apply to the Chesapeake Conservation Corps here.