Internships

Internships

Each university quarter, UCSC undergraduates from a variety of majors intern with UC Santa Cruz Campus Natural Reserve staff.

The UCSC Environmental Studies Internship Office and additional agencies across campus facilitate the ability for students to earn credit for taking part in our offerings. Students range from first-quarter freshman to graduating seniors and each spends between 6 and 15 hours a week working on a variety of projects on the reserve.

Reserve staff and paid student crew leaders lead interns in a wide variety of field-based research and hands-on-learning experiences in and around our 409-acre Reserve; a unique living laboratory and outdoor classroom.

UCSC Campus Natural Reserve Continuous Forest Inventory (CFI Fall 2015) interns measure tree growth rates.

UCSC Campus Natural Reserve Internships – Fall 2025

An average of 6 hours per week of internship work will earn you 2-credits through the ENVS Internship Office (see their website for other internship requirements beyond the 6-hour requirement). Our internships require a sense of adventure and willingness and ability to work off-trail in sometimes challenging terrain. Poison oak is abundant, and though we provide coverall suits, gloves, and Technu, participation isn’t recommended if you know you are highly sensitive to poison oak.

Our general expectations for interns are as follows:

• Use this experience as an opportunity to practice your professionalism: be punctual, communicate clearly/often/in advance about absences, show up prepared with food, water, and appropriate field gear (winter may be wet).
• Work hard—be helpful, look for the next task, be attentive to work flow.
• Be safe—learn the hazards of your tasks and be attentive to your own and your crew member’s safety while performing your duties.
• Cooperate and work as a team—communicate your needs, be inclusive of others’ needs and talents, have fun with each other and get to know each other as you work efficiently on your tasks.
• Be proactive—if you fall behind on hours check in with me to come up with a plan to make them up.
• Be curious and have fun—there are so many amazing things to discover out there!

Please wait to apply to internships until you have signed up for your fall classes.

All undergraduate UCSC students, regardless of major, are welcome to apply. Please contact us with your questions! 

INTERNSHIPS FOR ACADEMIC CREDIT

UCSC Forest Ecology Research Plot (FERP) woody plant recensus–24 interns needed

Shift times:  Our shifts run in a 6 hour block, once per week. You would work on one shift consistently, sticking with the same shift each week unless you needed to make up hours by joining another shift.

• Shift times:
  • Wednesdays 9:30 am-3:30 pm (could shift slightly depending on interns’ schedules)
  • Fridays 9:30 am-3:30 pm (could shift slightly depending on interns’ schedules)
  • Saturdays 10:00 am-4:00 pm

Apply here:  https://forms.gle/S68ptL4Y9bQNCQ7V8

Make sure you thoroughly read the internship description and webpage here so you know what you’re signing up for.

Description: Does the idea of spending six hours per week in the forest with new friends, feeling the sun filtering through the canopy, catching the first rain drops of the season, watching fall slide into winter, and collecting data for a globally-connected research project sound appealing? If so, we invite you to participate in research on the Forest Ecology Research Plot (FERP) as a field technician on our long-term woody plant census project. The FERP is part of the Smithsonian Institute’s ForestGEO network: a global network of 78 forest plots that are allowing us to track the dynamics of forest structure and composition around the world. You will work in a small crew of fellow students to find and measure tagged trees and tag and map new stems as we continue a recensus of the 16 hectare plot.

The FERP is part of the UCSC Upper Campus and is about a 25 minute walk from Science Hill. As an intern you will earn 2 units of credit by enrolling in ENVS 84 via the ENVS Internship Office. You will complete at least 54 hours of project work: 9 of 10 field shifts during the Quarter (54 hours total) and a few simple FERP assignments if needed (6 hours). Read more about the internship here.
The internship is a convenient way to explore your interest in forest ecology while contributing to vital global research. We see something new every time and it’s a great way to meet people with similar interests.

Special notes: Make sure you’re prepared with gear, etc.: We will provide you with tools, gloves, and other equipment needed for your specific project, but you’ll be responsible for keeping yourselves comfortable and nourished. This means dressing in layers, having rain gear if it’s going to rain, having sturdy shoes or rain boots if it will rain, a hat if it’s sunny, etc. We have a few sets of rain gear and several pairs of rain boots to lend out. If you want to get your own you can get a cheap pair of rain pants and rain jacket online–doesn’t have to be fancy, can be ~$20. Also make sure to bring enough water and food, including snacks and lunch if your shift straddles that time period. A good attitude, willingness to work hard and have fun, and lots of curiosity and enthusiasm are really helpful as well. If you have a beater pair of shoes or boots, best to wear those, as they will definitely be exposed to poison oak oils.

If you know you are highly sensitive to poison-oak oils, the FERP is not for you —we wear gloves and full-body coveralls, but your footwear, and your skin if you’re not careful, will be exposed to poison-oak oils. It is a woody plant, so it’s actually part of our study and we do actually measure it!
We will be out in the woods for a full 6 hours! In addition to the above information about staying warm, fed and hydrated, you may want to bring other supplies to keep yourself comfortable out there. We have some extra toilet paper and sanitary products, but you should plan ahead and be prepared to spend 6 hours away from campus.

CNR Stewardship–2-3 interns needed

Shift times: Wednesdays 9:30 am-3:30 pm (subject to change)
Apply here: https://forms.gle/S68ptL4Y9bQNCQ7V8

Assist with a wide variety of stewardship tasks on the Campus Natural Reserve and surrounding campus natural lands. Stewardship projects include the following: (1) woody plant removal from coastal prairie, (2) coastal prairie monitoring (3) management of invasive plant species, including surveillance, monitoring, identification, mapping, and removal, (4) trail maintenance and erosion control on reserve trails, (5) assisting with trail closures, (6) cleaning out abandoned camps and other forest and meadow trash piles, and (7) installing signs and fences.

Throughout the course of the Quarter interns will visit diverse habitats in various portions of the Campus Natural Reserve, and will pick up some natural history of various plants and animals along the way. Internships require punctuality, a strong work ethic, and the ability to work outside in all weather conditions in rough, uneven terrain and in dense thickets. Interns will gain experience with a wide variety of skills needed to manage and maintain a natural reserve that receives significant human use. Training on the safe use of hand tools will be provided. Interns should wear closed-toed shoes, long pants, and should have a long-sleeved upper layer they can put on when we work in dense vegetation. Interns should also bring lunch and enough water for the day (1 to 2 liters). Alex Jones, UCSC Campus Natural Reserve Manager, will communicate each week’s meeting location via email or text, so it is extremely important to be diligent with checking your UCSC email account and phone.

Wildfire Vegetation Management Plan pre-treatment plant and animal surveys–4-8 interns needed

• Shift times:
  • Tuesdays 9:30 am-3:30 pm
  • Thursdays 8:30 am-2:30 pm

Apply here: https://forms.gle/S68ptL4Y9bQNCQ7V8

General project background:
UC Santa Cruz is currently finalizing a comprehensive Wildfire Vegetation Management Plan (WVMP) which will result in significant fuel reduction and forest health projects to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire and increase forest resiliency. CNR interns worked in 2015-2017 to inventory a series of 16-m radius circular Continuous Forest Inventory (CFI) plots in Upper Campus, collecting a wide variety of vegetation and fuels data that will serve as baseline data in areas that will undergo WVMP projects. Beginning in winter 2024, we began adding some wildlife survey protocols to these plots, allowing us to track the impacts of fuel reduction and forest health projects on small mammal, bird, and amphibian communities.

Fall Quarter 2025 focus:
In Fall 2025, interns will assist in pre-treament baseline field surveys for mammals and vegetation throughout UCSC’s Upper Campus, learning field survey skills, indentification, and data management. Interns will help set and process camera traps and conduct vegetation monitoring on a series of circular plots throughout the UCSC Upper Campus as baseline data before future forest vegetation treatments occur. Interns will learn how to use camera traps and software designed to analyze camera trap photos, as well as standard forestry/forest ecology tools used to measure a variety of forest vegetation and landscape attributes. Work will be outdoors in a variety of terrains and weather conditions. Work will take place on and off trail in dense vegetation, with exposure to poison oak and ticks (coveralls, gloves, and Technu provided).

Special notes:
Make sure you’re prepared with gear, etc.: We will provide you with tools, gloves, and other equipment needed for your specific project, but you’ll be responsible for keeping yourselves comfortable and nourished. This means dressing in layers, having rain gear if it’s going to rain, having sturdy shoes or rain boots if it will rain, a hat if it’s sunny, etc. We have a few sets of rain gear and several pairs of rain boots. If you want to get your own you can get a cheap pair of rain pants and rain jacket online–doesn’t have to be fancy, can be ~$20. Also make sure to bring enough water and food, including snacks and lunch if your shift straddles that time period. A good attitude, willingness to work hard and have fun, and lots of curiosity and enthusiasm are really helpful as well. If you have a beater pair of shoes or boots, best to wear those, as they will definitely be exposed to poison oak oils.

If you know you are highly sensitive to poison-oak oils, this project is not for you! We wear gloves and full-body coveralls, but your footwear, and your skin if you’re not careful, will be exposed to poison-oak oils. It’s everywhere out there.

We will be out in the woods for a full 4 to 6 hours! In addition to the above information about staying warm, fed and hydrated, you may want to bring other supplies to keep yourself comfortable out there. We have some extra toilet paper and sanitary products, but you should plan ahead and be prepared to spend 6 hours away from campus.

PAID POSITIONS

Field Inquiry Mentors–10-12 environmental educators needed

Apply on Handshake: Job #10243720

This position is available for all work-study and non-work-study students

This fall, UCSC’s Ken Norris Center for Natural History, Campus Natural Reserve, Rachel Carson, Kresge, and Merrill colleges are all working together to lead short “nature inquiry” hike explorations on campus for all the incoming first-year students enrolled in each of the three college’s core courses  We call this F.I.N.E.- Field Inquiry Nature Exploration. Each fall we train a team of F.I.M.s –Field Inquiry Mentors– to lead these hikes. We will likely work with close to 1000 students this fall in groups of ~12-29 on over 100 separate explorations of campus. We’re aiming to have a team of 10-15 FIMs to lead the field walks. This is our 7th year of offering the FINE program, the 2nd year that we are deepening our program by working directly with each of Merrill’s core course sections over the course of four weeks, and the first year that we will be working with Kresge’s core course sections for two weeks.

The Merrill Core Course will continue into the winter; there will be additional FINE-type programs in the winter that FIMs will help lead as well, so this position will span both fall and winter.

While there is no one background set of skills or experiences that are required to be a student mentor, this position relies on our mentors having some familiarity facilitating and teaching groups and some knowledge of ecology/natural history. Here are a few benefits that we think you’ll gain through this experience:

• Valuable transferable skills in group leadership, management, and teaching
• How to facilitate the core skills of observation and inquiry.  We’ll apply these skills to exploring the natural world, but ultimately these are fundamental critical thinking skills used in many disciplines.
• Basic ecology and natural history
• Work with other amazing student mentors and UCSC staff/faculty

Percentage breakdown of job duties:

35% Field Inquiry Mentor (F.I.M.) Training

• Attend plenary presentation at Rachel Carson College on October 13th 7:10-8:45 pm OR the Kresge Plenary on October 16th 7:10-8:45 pm.
• Attend weekend campout training on September 27-28 at Año Nuevo State Park (camping gear available to borrow)
• Attend weekly training meetings. Specific days and times will be scheduled based on everyone’s availability. 
• Final Debrief meeting at end of quarter. This will happen during week 9 or 10. A specific day and time will be scheduled based on everyone’s availability.
• Coordination/scheduling meetings and trainings in Winter Quarter related to Merrill FINE and other experiential education programs (Forest Fellows, Eco Explorers)

65% Field Inquiry Teaching 

• Co-teach field inquiry modules in discussion sections of Merrill Core course during weeks 5-8 and Kresge Core course during weeks 4 and 5.
• Co-lead and solo lead Field Inquiry hikes for Rachel Carson during week 4-9.
• Co-lead field inquiry modules for Merrill Core course during Winter Quarter (dates TBD)
• Participate in other outdoor leadership programs such as Forest Fellows and Eco Explorers, which get students outside on campus natural lands and off-campus on local field trips.

Additional Opportunities
In addition to our official offerings each quarter, we help students to design their own projects on the UCSC Campus Natural Reserve. Prospective applicants can contact our office with experiment, project, and thesis ideas. These opportunities are generally set up one or more quarters in advance, so that reserve staff can set aside appropriate time and resources. Select major programs allow for this work to apply toward degree credit. Contact our office for more details.