Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS), in collaboration with the Northeast Illinois Invasive Plant Partnership (NIIPP) and Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant, is now hiring qualified individuals to serve as Site Leaders for this summer’s Clean Boats Crew Program. The program’s goal is to educate the public about aquatic invasive species and how these species are unintentionally spread by performing weekend outreach at boat launches.
INHS plans to hire a total of five part-time Site Leaders: two for Lake County, IL, two for Cook County, IL, and one for Northwest Indiana. Site Leaders will manage a team of volunteers and be supervised by a program coordinator. Site Leaders will be trained to be familiar with 1) aquatic invasive species relevant to the region, 2) outreach materials offered by IL-IN Sea Grant to promote awareness, and 3) techniques for interacting with the public, providing successful outreach, and collecting data on social awareness. Once training is completed Site Leaders will work 8-hour weekend shifts during the summer boating season. High school diploma is required. Preference will be given to those candidates with some college or a college degree in biology, ecology, zoology, natural resources, or a related field. Willingness to travel to multiple sites throughout the selected work area and to work twelve weekends during the summer is required; exceptions to this are not encouraged but may be considered on a case by case basis. Strong interpersonal skills, familiarity with towing small trailers, an ability to work independently and communicate well with diverse groups, and an interest in outreach and environmental issues are desired. Each assistant coordinator will also need a reliable vehicle to travel to outreach sites. Salary information and more information about how to apply can be found at http://iiseagrant.org/ais/SAH_crew.html. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sarah A. Zack Aquatic Invasive Species Specialist Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign c/o Chicago Botanic Garden | 1000 Lake Cook Road | Glencoe, IL 60022 p: (847) 242-6440 | f: (847) 835-1635 | e: [email protected] www.iiseagrant.org | www.inhs.illinois.edu
