CBRM Water Sourcer Lakes Microplastics Assessment Intern

Job title: CBRM Water Sourcer Lakes Microplastics Assessment Intern

Reports to: Dr. Ken Oakes, Dept of Biology, Cape Breton University 

Job location: 1250 Grand Lake Road, Sydney, NS, B1M 1A2 

Wage: $17.20/ 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 

Cape Breton University, located mid-way between Glace Bay and Sydney Nova Scotia on Cape Breton Island, is emerging as a regional leader in environmental technologies. 

Summary of position  

The host employer for this Summer Internship position through the Clean Leadership program will be Cape Breton University. In this position, you will be mainly responsible for helping senior researchers collect samples from various matrices (water, sediment, and soil) and extract microplastics within these samples. Under the guidance of senior team members, the intern will use Raman Spectroscopy to characterize and assess the age and concentration of microplastics within the samples.  The successful candidate needs be enthusiastic, motivated by a sincere desire to characterize a novel class of emerging contaminants, and possessing a chemistry or biology background consistent with at least three years of post-secondary education in an environmentally-focused discipline. 

Duties and Responsibilities  

• Literature review
• Helping collect, float, isolate and characterize microplastics from multiple locations in CBRM watershed lakes which are raw drinking water sources. 
• Work with CBU and CBRM Water Utility staff as directed to produce maps of source and fate of environmental microplastics.
• Ensure laboratory environment is kept clean and tidy for the safety of all
• Collect, organize, and analyze data with Microsoft Excel™ and SPSS™ for statistical analyses. 

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; 

• Environmental skill sets consistent with at least three years of post-secondary education in an environmentally-focused discipline 

Working Conditions
Working mostly indoors in climate controlled environment, but some fieldwork collecting environmental samples.  

Physical Requirements
Ability to perform repeated tasks carrying light weight samples and/or equipment