The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) maintains two centralized job listings around the country. First is TNC's website. Positions ranged from secretarial/administrative assistants and journalists to field biologists and ecologists. The locations ranged from TNC's Virginia headquarters to a field office in Hawaii. You can view a list of available job openings at www.nature.org.The second comprehensive listing of nationwide TNC jobs is the organization's Personnel Memo, which is a weekly in-house publication of
The Nature Conservancy, published by the Human Resources Division at its home office. Job openings from all over the country are listed on this sheet every Friday. A recent Personnel Memo had listings for an ecologist, a stewardship Fellow, an administrative assistant, a Solomon Islands field representative, a part-time volunteer coordinator, a government relations coordinator, and an office manager. Job locations included Alaska, Wyoming, Arizona, Connecticut, and the Solomon Islands.
Because TNC is so highly regarded among so many environmentalists, most of these jobs are highly sought after and therefore hard to get. Many employees first get their foot in as volunteers, for which we've included additional application information. (See section on Volunteer Jobs.) There are many other organizations offering environmental careers and volunteer opportunities. Here's another.
The Appalachian Trail Conference
Crew leaders are responsible for organizing and planning trail maintenance and construction projects, as well as overseeing a volunteer work crew in accomplishing these projects. Essentially, they guide and instruct groups of six trail crew volunteers. Camp coordinators, meanwhile, manage the base camps out of which the various work crews operate. Crew leaders and camp coordinators are also responsible for their own travel
costs, but ATC provides travel between work sites. ATC provides a weekly salary of about $200 per week plus room and board. Trail crew leaders get far more out of these positions than money. As crew leader Rich Atwood attests: "I had such a positive experience with the Trail. I experienced personal growth that allowed me to be more open in a group of people. I developed leadership skills that I didn't have when I was
hired. I learned skills and developed a work ethic that will probably stick with me for years to come."
Applicants for paid positions should have extensive outdoor experience, first aid knowledge, trail maintenance knowledge, general construction experience, and familiarity with the Appalachian Trail system. In addition, volunteer experience as a trail crew member is particularly helpful. (See the following
chapter for more information on volunteer positions.) Those interested in becoming ATC crew leaders or camp coordinators should write the ATC Crew Program for an application and information: ATC Crew Program
NH-Cl94A
P.O. Box 10
Newport, VA 24128
Phone: (540) 544-7388
Fax: (540) 544-7120
Website: www.appalachiantrail.org
Interested persons should contact the ATC well before January 15. The application deadline is January 31. Crews typically operate from mid-May through late fall. Volunteer Jobs >>> | 
