Stewardship Field Assistant 

Job title: Stewardship Field Assistant

Reports to: Liv Monck-Whipp (she/her) – Stewardship Coordinator

Job location: Hybrid 81 Prince Albert Road Dartmouth, NS B2Y 1M1 and remote

Wage: $20.50 / 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 Nova Scotia Nature Trust works to safeguard lands, waters, plants and animals in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded lands of the Mi’kmaq. We recognize the Mi’kmaq as past, present, and future caretakers of these lands and we are committed to a path of reconciliation. We work directly to save outstanding natural areas, through land conservation. We use a strategic, science-driven approach to identify and protect the most threatened, unique and significant natural areas. Together, with landowners, local communities, other conservation organizations and government we protect and steward wild places. We protect land in perpetuity, for nature and future generations to enjoy.

The office is located in downtown Dartmouth and is a collaborative place for mentorship and team building. The successful candidate(s) for this internship will also be working throughout Nova Scotia’s special wilderness areas on conservation lands.

Summary of position  

The host employer for this Summer Internship position through the Clean Leadership program will be Nova Scotia Nature Trust. In this position, you will be mainly responsible for helping to care for the Nature Trust’s conservation lands across the province. In this role, you will visit Nature Trust lands on foot and by kayak, documenting human impacts and ecological changes. You will work with eager volunteers, helping them feel more confident monitoring on their own and in using our monitoring app, and you will assist with stewardship events and activities. This job requires an energetic individual who is responsible and organized, and who is just as happy bushwhacking through hardwoods, coastal forest and shrub barrens as they are hiking on a trail. If you are looking for a satisfying challenge and a chance to see and care for Nova Scotia’s wild spaces, this is it. The successful candidate needs to have:

• some post-secondary training in conservation sciences, ecology, biology, fish and wildlife, ecosystem management or related fields.

• The ideal candidate will have some experience working in a conservation role.

• An equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered.

Duties and Responsibilities  

Reporting to the Nature Trust’s Stewardship Coordinators, the Stewardship Field Assistant is essential to the Nature Trust’s annual monitoring program and its general stewardship program, visiting Nature Trust properties across the province and mentoring volunteers. 

Stewardship Responsibilities (50%):  

• Under the guidance of the Stewardship Coordinators, efficiently plan a summer of monitoring visits, stewardship work, and volunteer mentoring sessions across the province.  

• Property monitoring and reporting using Landscape, sometimes with local volunteers. 

• Easement monitoring and reporting, including communication with volunteers who monitor easements and with easement landowners.  

• Respond to volunteer inquiries and questions about using Landscape and troubleshoot using online resources as necessary. 

• Under direction from the stewardship team, plan, assist with or execute work parties or stewardship events to accomplish stewardship work with Nature Trust staff, and assist with other outreach events. 

• Undertake other field work as assigned to support the stewardship program 

• Assist with stewardship activities (including boundary maintenance, signage installation, invasive species removal) 

Administrative/Technical Responsibilities (30%): 

• Use tracking systems in Landscape for monitoring, reporting and stewardship actions as trained. 

• Assist with writing baselines and stewardship plans for conservation lands 

• Assist with updating Landscape records 

Communications and Outreach (15%): 

• Work with Property Guardians and other volunteers as required for property monitoring and stewardship activities. 

• Occasionally provide social media updates and write for newsletters (Landlines and Branches). 

• Assist with coordinating with contractors as required 

Other responsibilities as required (5%) 

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; 

Job Specific Knowledge and Abilities: 

• Ability to navigate extremely varied terrain on foot, over long distances, using GPS or compass (this is absolutely essential to this role- please do not apply if you cannot navigate off trail!). 

• Ability to work in an unstructured environment and remain organized 

• Ability to track progress against goals  

• Ability to competently use the Microsoft Office Suite, especially Word and Excel, and to learn to use the stewardship database, Landscape.  

• Technical report writing skills are an asset 

• Ability to kayak or canoe is considered a serious asset 

• Chainsaw training and experience is considered an asset 

• Experience with hand tools and power tools (e.g. drill, reciprocating saw) and light carpentry is considered an asset  

• Ability to work independently while maintaining team relationships 

• Valid driver’s license 

• GIS capabilities are considered an asset 

• Species identification, especially of species at risk or species of conservation concern, is considered an asset.  

Working Conditions
This position requires a combination of office and fieldwork.  For the duration of the position, the candidate will be required to travel and be on site for two to five days of each week.  Fieldwork may occasionally require camping at or near worksites. Travel expenses (food, rental vehicle and accommodations) are covered.  Office work will take place on-site at the Nova Scotia Nature Trust office in Dartmouth, NS. 

Physical Requirements
Ability to navigate extremely varied terrain on foot, over long distances, using GPS or compass. Some portions of the position will be physically demanding.