Lower Merion Conservancy

Internships at The Conservancy

The Lower Merion Conservancy is a community organization working to protect our area's natural and historic resources, open space, and watersheds with the help of dedicated local individuals and students. You can be a part of these exciting programs by applying to participate in an internship with the Lower Merion Conservancy.

Internships at the Lower Merion Conservancy offer students real world experiences while allowing students to meet their college or university requirements. All projects are grounded in our mission -- conservation, education and historic preservation--and will result in a project or paper that will be actively used by the Conservancy and the community.

The Lower Merion Conservancy offers a limited number of internships to qualified students. Below you will find a list of potential internship themes. Please contact Lindsay Smith at 610.645.9030 or lindsay@dragonfly.org if you have any questions, comments or ideas or would like to apply.

Conservation

While Lower Merion has a surprising amount of natural areas, many of these lack monitoring and cataloging. The Conservancy strives not only to identify and monitor important natural resources but also to educate the public on how and why we should conserve them. A conservation internship can include stream motoring, macroinvertebrate identification, bird identification, restoration and more. Because of the importance in educating the public on these topics, projects can include an opportunity to help with school programming, public lectures, or public programming.

Suggested Project Ideas
· Temperature study of stream water after rainstorms in summer
· Monitor streams located near current development
· Identify, research and present a community issue to a class or in a public forum

Education

It is very important for school-age children to be introduced to the natural world. Educational programs offered by the Conservancy introduce students to a variety of topics through hands on experiences. An education internship with the Conservancy would include the opportunity to work directly with school and public programming, lectures, classroom visits and other hands-on environmental education opportunities.

Suggested Project Ideas
· Plan, create and implement a lesson plan or public program relevant to the mission and resources of the Conservancy
· Identify, research and present a community issue to a class or in a public forum

Historic Preservation

The Conservancy educates and advocates for historic preservation in architecturally rich Lower Merion, home to numerous examples of a wide range of architectural styles. Preservation interns research, develop and present slide shows on architectural history, create preservation-related publications, research building histories, and more.

Suggested Project Ideas
· Development and presentation of slide lecture to the Lower Merion community through the Historic Preservation Lecture Series
· Writing of building histories for the annual “Top Ten Threatened Historic Structures” publication
· Research and creation of a map of Lower Merion’s 18th- and 19th-century mill sites

Requirements

Interns must:

· Be in good academic standing with their school;
· Have their project approved by academic advisor;
· Work 5-10 hours weekly at the Conservancy;
· Present the Conservancy with a completed copy of personal project identified at start of internship.

Application Process

Fill out and send in the application and a type-written, one to two page proposal to:

Lindsay Smith
Education Coordinator
Lower Merion Conservancy
1301 Rose Glen Road
Gladwyne, PA 19035

Proposals should include purpose and proposed methods of project and how this project would relate to both your schooling and the Lower Merion Conservancy’s mission. Please do not forget to include both you and your academic advisor’s full name and contact information.

Internships can be done on a semester or yearly basis including summer session.
Limited numbers of students are accepted each semester.
Projects are subject to approval by Lower Merion Conservancy staff.

Updated: 12/13/2005 © 2010Lower Merion Conservancy. All rights reserved.

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