Terrestrial Restoration Intern

Job title: Terrestrial Restoration Intern

Reports to: Elizabeth Jessome, Senior Manager of Terrestrial Restoration, Habitat Restoration Department 

Job location: ACAP Cape Breton Office, 90 Esplanade, Sydney, Nova Scotia, Cape Breton Regional Municipality

Wage: $20.00 / hour

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

Start Date: Expected May 11, 2026

Number of Positions: 1

This position is designated and limited to applicants from the following groups:

• Black, African Canadian, or people of African Descent

Employment Hiring 

Clean is committed to Employment Equity and our goal is to be a diverse workforce that is representative at all job levels. The Clean Leadership Program welcomes applications from qualified self-identifying First Nations, Métis and Inuit people, Racialized Youth, Persons with Disabilities, Newcomers, and 2SLGBTQIA+ applicants. If you are a member of one of the equity groups, you are encouraged 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 

Founded in 1992, ACAP Cape Breton is an environmental not-for-profit charity with the mission to support sustainable, resilient communities in Unama’ki-Cape Breton. We focus on four core areas of work: Habitat Restoration, Ecological Monitoring, Environmental Education, and Waste Diversion. Our projects emphasize community action, youth engagement, and tangible environmental impacts. Our office is located at 90 Esplanade in Sydney, Unama’ki-Cape Breton, with restoration sites located across the island.

Summary of position  

The host employer for this Summer Internship position through the Clean Leadership program will be ACAP Cape Breton. As the Terrestrial Restoration Intern, you will be responsible for supporting the work of the Terrestrial branch of ACAP’s Habitat Restoration team, restoring forest and wetland habitat across Unama’ki-Cape Breton.

This position will focus on supporting science communication and community outreach, assisting with organizing and hosting a series of community restoration events, and participating in cross-team collaborations with ACAP’s education, stream, and monitoring teams. Other duties include conducting restoration, monitoring, maintenance, and data collection activities as part of a team. A typical day could involve office time to develop materials, organize field gear, meet with team members, or for project planning. Many days will involve long hours in the field working in a variety of habitats, including forest, wetland, stream, disturbed, and intact ecosystems in urban and rural settings.

The successful candidate needs to be comfortable working outdoors for extended periods in a variety of weather conditions, have strong teamwork and communication skills, as well as a passion for community work. This position involves significant opportunities for applied professional learning, and we anticipate that the intern will take on progressively more responsibility throughout the season.

Duties and Responsibilities  

The Terrestrial Restoration Intern will be responsible for supporting science communication efforts, working with the Terrestrial Restoration team to translate monitoring and survey data into materials to share with the community and also assisting with the organization and hosting of community-based habitat restoration events across Cape Breton Island. This will involve collaboration with ACAP’s communications team and external organizations/ groups. The successful candidate will also be responsible for supporting and sometimes leading other aspects of habitat restoration, including but not limited to data management, research, information synthesis, and writing, plant material management, field data collection, team and volunteer coordination, and physical restoration activities.

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; 
• Ability to work outdoors for extended periods in a variety of weather conditions; 
• Adhering to weather appropriate dress, and following directions from team leads; 
• Willingness to take direction and learn from feedback; 
• Understanding of native, naturalized, and invasive plant concepts or willingness to learn; 
• Experience using a GPS, or willingness to learn; 
• Be a strong communicator with a passion for community-based work;  
• Knowledge of basic ecological principles or willingness to learn;  
• Interest in and some experience with Etuaptmumk (Two-Eyed Seeing); and 
• Experience using GIS is considered an asset, but not required.

Working Conditions  

The successful candidate must have a high degree of safety consciousness and the ability to work outdoors for an extended period of time in varied weather conditions (up to 7 hour days). As well, working with the public is a large part of this work and applicants should be strong communicators interested in community-based work.

Physical Requirements

This job is physically demanding, requiring moderate physical exertion for up to 7 hours per day. This could include walking/ hiking through uneven terrain, lifting, carrying, crouching, and long-hours outdoors rain or shine.