Amphibian Research Intern

Job title: Amphibian Research Intern

Reports to: Dr. Linda Campbell, Professor, Environmental Science, Saint Mary’s University

Job location: Primary location: Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Wage: $22.00 / hour

Hours: 35 hours per week (15-week internship)

Start Date: Expected May 20, 2025

 Number of Positions: 1

Equity Hiring:  

Clean is committed to Employment Equity. Our goal is to be inclusive of a diverse workforce that is reflected at all job levels. The Clean Leadership Program welcomes candidates from diverse equity groups to apply and encourage you to self-identify on our registration form.

About the Clean Leadership Summer Internship Program 

The Clean Leadership Summer Internship program helps grow the clean economy by matching interns (age 15-30) with employers for 9- and 15-week summer work placements. Participating interns will receive paid hands-on experience, mentorship opportunities, take part in a professional development conference and training, while supporting local environmental projects.  

Program Requirements 

• Must be a Canadian citizen, Permanent Resident, person who has been granted refugee status in Canada or legally entitled to work in Canada;  

• Must be between the ages of 15 and 30 years old (inclusive) at the start of internship; 

• From and/or will be residing in Nova Scotia for the duration of the internship; 

• Must not be an immediate family member of host employer; 

About the host employer 

The Dynamic Environment & Ecological Health Research (DEEHR) Group at Saint Mary’s University) integrates multiple approaches in their research from diverse fields such as environmental chemistry, aquatic ecology, fish biology and population health. Our ultimate goal is to improve our understanding of the fate and effects of anthropogenic disrupters in aquatic ecosystems and the way humans interact with aquatic environments.

Summary of position  

The host employer for this Summer Internship position through the Clean Leadership program will be Saint Mary’s University. In this position, you will be mainly responsible for assisting with field sampling of amphibians, fish and other aquatic samples from wetlands around historical gold mine tailings from 150+-year-old mining sites. The successful candidate needs to have the ability and willingness to do outdoors field work, laboratory analyses, data organizational skills, be comfortable with the time required to learn and become proficient at outdoors field work, lab work and using computational geographical and statistical software, and be able to work collaboratively with our current partners in government, industry and academia. here will be opportunities to assist with other ongoing projects within the DEEHR group as well. It is important to be comfortable with working long hours outdoors (in a variety of weather conditions), long hours indoors with repetitive laboratory processes, be physically fit with the ability to lift up to 50 lbs, comfortable on and around water, and be willing to work with invertebrate species, plants and wet sediments.

Duties and Responsibilities  

Our work this spring/summer will include site visits to 6-7 aquatic ecosystems within the Maritimes, some of which have been impacted by historic gold mines nearby or by invasive species. At these sites we will be collecting fish, invertebrate and sediment samples, and water chemistry data. All samples will be prepared for multiple laboratory analyses including mercury, arsenic, chytrid, and other contaminants to assess the ecological damage and bioaccumulation of contaminants happening in these areas. There will be also opportunities to assist with other projects especially with our invasive & species-at-risk projects.

Other duties of the intern(s) will include lab work (such as washing glassware, general lab cleaning, assisting in the preparation and analysis of the collected samples) and computational work (data entry, data analyses, mapping). Tasks may also include literature reviews and developing a poster presentation on the topic of environmental consequences of historic god mining activities. The DEEHR group typically also assigns an independent mini-project to each 15-week intern after discussion and review of personal career interests with the intern.

Requirements/Qualifications 

• Have an aptitude for safe work practices and the ability to multi-task in a busy work environment; 

• Be able to work productively as part of a team while responding to feedback; 

• Demonstrated interest in future employment in the environmental or clean sector is considered an asset; 

• Have an aptitude for safe work practices and the ability to multi-task in a busy work environment; 

• Be able to work productively as part of a team while responding to feedback; 

• Willing to work long hours in outdoor settings and laboratory settings.  

Working Conditions
Working conditions will include periods of intensive field work, which will include long hours working outdoors in wetland ecosystems as well as considerable laboratory work assisting with ecotoxicology sampling projects. Applications must be willing to work outdoors in a variety of weather conditions, and have proper gear (i.e. rain gear, outdoors close-toed shoes), to do so.  Working in laboratory settings is also a major component of the position(s) and ability to pay attention to detail, take accurate notes and work safely with a team is also very important. Safety and skills training will be provided.

Physical Requirement

• This position may be physically demanding and applicants must be able to lift up to 50 lbs (field gear, water samples, sediment samples).

• Laboratory work may require standing for extended periods (e.g. pipetting, analyses) and sitting for extended periods (e.g. microscopy work). However, accommodation can be provided if needed.

• Accessibility and inclusive working settings are important to us. Accommodation and adaption strategies are available for all team members to be able to undertake the level of work needing to be done.