SECC & Mammoth Cave Mountains National Park - Trails Ambassador 2021
Title: Trails Ambassador
Reports to: Anthony Bradshaw, Trails Coordinator; Mammoth Cave National Park
Location: Mammoth Cave, KY
Status: Seasonal, Full-time, Exempt (1700-hour AmeriCorps National Service Term)
Stipend: $260 weekly (paid bi-weekly)
Health Benefits: Health Benefit Eligible
Other Benefits: On-site housing provided. Training, uniform shirts, and protective equipment provided. Other development opportunities as available. $6,195.00 Segal AmeriCorps Education Award upon successful completion of service term.
Position Dates: April/May 2021 – March/April 2022 (48-week term) Some flexibility on start date.
Positions Available: 1
Position open until filled.
Southeast Conservation Corps:
Southeast Conservation Corps (SECC) empowers young people to attain compassion, responsibility and grit through community service, hard work and environmental stewardship. SECC is a local, non-profit, AmeriCorps affiliated organization based out of Chattanooga, TN. SECC selects young adults ages 18 - 35, to complete conservation work projects on public, private, and municipal lands throughout the Southeast. SECC fosters the personal development of corpsmembers through environmental stewardship projects and experiential learning. Through community partnerships, SECC provides hands-on job training opportunities to young adults while simultaneously meeting natural resource needs throughout the Southeast. SECC positions focus on place-based learning, life skills development, appreciation of diversity, civic responsibility, and career development. SECC also provides an opportunity for interns to learn about the local environment, environmental issues and introduces individuals to recreation and resource management careers.
Position Summary:
The mission of the Trails Ambassador with Mammoth Cave National Park is to engage the next generation of conservation leaders and inspire lifelong stewardship of our environment and communities by engaging individuals through an internship with the National Park Service. The Mammoth Cave National Park Trails Department is dedicated to the lasting management of all 87 miles of trails at the park. We oversee both the surface trails and cave trails within the park boundaries. Our primary goal is to mitigate trail erosion factors to ensure a safe and enjoyable hiking experience for our visitors. In doing so, we are focused on environmental factors, trip and fall hazards, and maintaining proper trail design. Trails allow park visitors to have minimal impact to the environment while ensuring they can visit the park’s most beautiful points of interest.
Because this position works with vulnerable populations, all offers of employment are conditional upon the completion and clearance of a National Sex Offender Public Registry check and state of residence, state of service, and federal criminal history checks.
Responsibilities Include:
· Improve visitor experience
o Improving recreational trails
o Removing invasive species
o Restoring habitats
o Monitoring wildlife populations
o Implementing administrative projects such as GIS or IT related efforts
o Creating interpretation programs for all visitors
· Supervise volunteer groups and facilitate workdays
o Working alongside volunteers including but not limited to AmeriCorps NCCC teams, ACE crews, SCA groups, and local volunteers
o Managing trail work tasks and meeting daily objectives
o Teaching volunteers proper trail building and maintenance techniques
· Create trail work proposals
o Assisting in writing grants and agreements
o Preparing reports based on previous trail monitoring with an emphasis on trail degradation and erosion
o Creating cost estimates, assisting in maintaining financial records, and keeping track of material budgets
· Recruit volunteers to help with the mission of the trails department
o Attending local volunteer group meetings
o Outreaching to the local communities, schools, associations, veterans’ groups to educate and recruit
· Maintain tools and materials
o Keeping detailed list of tools and materials used on the worksite
o Cleaning and sharpening tools
o Maintaining a clean work environment and organizing trail shop
Minimum Qualifications:
· Must be able to lift at least 50 lb.
· Must be able to hike 10 miles in a day
· Must be able to follow instructions
· Must have a great attitude
· Must be willing to do things the hard way
· Must have great communication skills
· Must be able to use a computer (email, social media, spread sheets, etc.)
· Must be teachable
· Must not be claustrophobic (This is a cave system)
· Must not have anger issues
Preferred Qualifications:
· Construction experience
· Volunteer experience
AmeriCorps Qualifications:
To qualify, you must be between the ages of 18 and 30 (exception for Veterans up to age 35), and a US Citizen, National, or Legal Permanent Resident that has received a high school diploma or GED. Must be eligible to receive an AmeriCorps Education Award (individuals are eligible if they have not already completed 2 full years of AmeriCorps service, or 4 AmeriCorps service terms, whichever comes first – please contact us if you are unsure of your eligibility).
Compensation:
Interns earn a living stipend of $260/week ($520 dispersed bi-weekly before taxes) via direct deposit. On-site housing, training, uniform shirts, and protective equipment is provided. Upon successful completion of their term, interns will receive a $6,195.00 Segal AmeriCorps Education Award for tuition at Title IV accredited learning institutions, AmeriCorps approved non-traditional continued education or paying off student loans.
Participation and Expedition Behavior:
· Work effectively as a member of a team despite potentially stressful and difficult conditions. This may require problem-solving on an interpersonal or group level as well as a willingness to accept differences.
· Contribute to a safe learning environment, no harassment of others for any reason.
· Willingness and ability to complete all aspects of the program including conservation projects, education, training, and national service. Members must commit to participating in all crew/team activities, including service days in local communities where applicable.
· Effectively communicate ideas and concerns as they arise directly to supervisors, colleagues, and organization staff.
· Have the cognitive ability to learn necessary skills and apply them to effectively carry out the service work requirements.
· Appropriately always represent the Program and AmeriCorps to the public and project partners.
Safety and Judgment:
· Effectively communicate danger to others in the form of either a warning of danger others may be encountering or a notification of personal distress, injury or need for assistance. You must be able to do so at up to 50 meters and in conditions with limited visibility or loud background noise such as darkness or high winds.
· Effectively perceive, understand, and follow direction by others so that you will be able to successfully execute appropriate and perhaps unfamiliar techniques to manage hazards. These directions may be given before the hazard is encountered or may need to be given during exposure to the hazard.
· Stay alert and focused for several hours at a time while traveling and working in varied weather conditions
· Perceive and comprehend significant and apparent hazards, including those hazards previously identified by others.
· Respond appropriately to stress or crises.
· If taking prescription medications, participants must be able to maintain proper dosage by self-medicating without assistance from others.
Environmental Ethics:
Learn and practice ‘Leave no Trace’ techniques.
Outdoor Skills and Fitness (where appropriate):
· Learn and safely perform fundamental outdoor living/travel and work skills as appropriate to the project. Additionally, remain adequately hydrated, fed, and properly dressed to remain generally healthy and safe, avoiding environmental injuries.
· Live in a physically demanding, possibly remote environment for an uninterrupted period of up to several weeks. Conditions of this environment may vary significantly and may include severe and/or trying weather. The remoteness is such that it may require at a minimum one hour, but perhaps up to 12 hours, to reach the nearest advanced medical care.
Substance Free:
In accordance with a drug free workplace, alcohol and drugs are prohibited while participating in AmeriCorps and program activities and while on organization property.
This program is available to all eligible applicants, without regard to race, color, national origin, disability, age, sex, political affiliation, sexual orientation, or religion.
To Apply:
Follow the SECC link, Conservation Legacy Positions (silkroad.com), and complete the application. Please include a resume and a cover letter.
If you have questions regarding the position, please contact:
Anthony Bradshaw
Trail Coordinator
Mammoth Cave National Park
(270) 855-1518
anthony_bradshaw@nps.gov
If you have questions regarding the application process, please contact:
Darby Reed
Enrollment Coordinator
Southeast Conservation Corps
(304) 860-0320
dreed@conservationlegacy.org