Forest Ecology Interpretive Trail Design Internship

The Forest Ecology Interpretive Trail Design Internship will return in 2022.

UMaine 4-H Camp and Learning Center at Tanglewood has an accessible interpretive walking trail through its Yankee Woodlot. When the trail was designed, signage was put in place to teach walkers about forest management practices. These highlighted unique forest features, and served to share general information on forest ecology and forest health. Over the years, the signage has aged (both physically and educationally). The Intern will bring a fresh lens to the trail signage and trail design. 

The Forest Ecology Interpretive Trail Design Internship is a combination research, design, and hands-on project with the UMaine 4-H Camp and Learning Center at Tanglewood. The intern will acquire and practice skills in the following areas:

  1. natural history interpretive trail design,
  2. educational program design, and
  3. research on scientific concepts in forest ecology, dendrology, hydrology, geology, etc.

The Intern will have the opportunity to connect with other Extension staff and partners who have a background in forestry/forest management, and will work alongside environmental educators based at Tanglewood. The Intern will work alongside the facilities manager who is experienced in trail design and helped to set up the original trail. Interested students should have a basic knowledge of forest ecosystems, solid writing skills, able to work outside, able to use small hand-tools, comfortability with word processing and design layout. The Intern should be able to share passions for forestry and ecology with others in a creative and educational manner. The Intern should be able to pass a background check to be able to observe programming with school-aged youth.

Overall goal of the Internship:

  • Redesign trail signage and educational materials, and light trail maintenance to showcase forest ecology in a self-directed manner. Upon project completion, new signs will be designed, and if not installed, a plan for installation set.

Main learning objectives:

The Intern will acquire and practice skills in the following areas:

  1. natural history interpretive trail design
  2. educational program design
  3. research on scientific concepts in forest ecology, dendrology, hydrology, geology etc.

Main learning tasks:

  1. Get to know the Tanglewood campus and its natural history.
  2. Conduct online and/or in-person research on interpretive trail design and signage creation, including the technical aspects of building or getting signage produced.
  3. See the project through to completion by installing the new interpretive signage, and making recommendations for future improvements.

Research component:

The Intern will research:

  • current forest management practices as they relate to the project,
  • the best ways of designing trail signage for public use and understanding, and
  • how to best create signage to be able to be accessible to all audiences.

The Intern will spend the first week getting to know the Tanglewood campus, especially the Trees Trail. Secondly, the Intern will conduct online and/or in-person research on interpretive trail design and signage creation, including the technical aspects of building or getting signage produced. Finally, the Intern will see the project through to completion by installing the new interpretive signage, and making recommendations for future improvements.

Desired skills/knowledge:

  • Basic knowledge of forest ecosystems, solid writing skills, able to work outside, able to use small hand-tools, comfortability with word processing and design layout.

Working in an open-space office, out in the field, or virtually (if need be), the Intern will be trained in all safety protocols that pertain to the work. A background check is required as the Intern will work onsite where children are present.

To apply for our Internships, please visit UMaine’s Career Center (Career Link). If you have not created an account before, please know you will need to use your umaine.edu email. Once you have created an account, search for UMaine Cooperative Extension and our internship opportunities should appear.