The Student Conservation Association is hiring an Ice Age Trail work crew!

Photo by Cameron Gillie.
Photo by Cameron Gillie.

A partner organization, the Student Conservation Association (SCA), is hiring an Ice Age Trail work crew for the summer!

This is a great opportunity for those starting out or considering a career in the outdoors.

Crew members will spend their summer with a team of like-minded peers, gaining hands-on training and developing trailbuilding and leadership skills. And they’ll be working in some of the most scenic locations Wisconsin has to offer, right along the Ice Age National Scenic Trail.

About the SCA summer Ice Age Trail work crew:

This will be a five-person crew (one team lead, four members), made up of female-identifying individuals. An initiative supported by the National Park Foundation, single-identity crews like this help people feel safe and comfortable as they explore possible career paths, receive on-the-job training, and develop leadership skills.

This year’s Ice Age Trail team will work in Central and Northern Wisconsin segments of the Trail. Their work will focus on a variety of trailbuilding, maintenance, and stewardship projects.

Ice Age Trail Team Members will:

  • Build trail structures such as boardwalks
  • Construct new trail
  • Conduct ongoing maintenance, including corridor clearing and invasive species removal

Compensation/Benefits for team members:

  • $200/week living allowance, paid bi-weekly
  • $650 travel stipend, paid once
  • Field-based meals
  • Housing (combination of front country camping and bunkhouse-style housing; equipment (tents, kitchen) is provided)
  • SCA member orientation, wilderness medicine, and trail work skills trainings
  • AmeriCorps Education Award of $1,678.57, received upon successful completion of the program

Qualified candidates must be 18 or older. Read the team member position description to learn more about this position and desired qualifications.

In addition to the tasks performed by team members, the team leader will also:

  • Act as a Corps Team Supervisor, facilitating teamwork, managing field-based tasks, and guiding crew dynamics
  • Serve as an Advisor, training members in technical conservation work skills, mentoring personal and professional development, and teaching environmental stewardship
  • Act as a Project Manager, communicating with agency park partners, ensuring successful and timely completion of work projects, and upholding a positive representation of SCA
  • Perform tasks as a Program Administrator, organizing logistics, completing documentation, managing a budget, and communicating with SCA staff

Compensation/Benefits for team leader:

  • $700/week, paid bi-weekly. Training time is paid.
  • Up to $1,300 travel stipend
  • $45/month cell phone stipend
  • Field-based meals
  • SCA Leader Training
  • Housing (combination of front country camping and bunkhouse-style housing; equipment (tents, kitchen) is provided)

Qualified candidates must be 21 or older. Review the team leader position description to learn more about this position and desired qualifications.

Applicants should apply by April 30. However, applicants are reviewed and interviewed on a rolling basis, so the earlier the better for applying!

Preference will be given to female-identifying applicants; cis,  trans females, non-binary and gender non-conforming people are welcomed.

Expected employment term for team members is June 6 – August 27, 2022.

Expected employment term for team leader is May 30 – September 4, 2022.

Team leader training takes place in  Harrisonburg, Vir. from May 15 – 26 2022.

Apply at thesca.org.

This is opportunity is made possible by a grant funded by the Student Conservation Association and National Park Foundation.

The SCA is America’s conservation corps. Their mission is to build the next generation of conservation leaders and inspire lifelong stewardship of the environment and communities by engaging young people in hands-on service to the land.  In addition to traditionally open work crews, the SCA also sponsors single-identity crews with participants who use American Sign Language, are LGBTQ+, Latinx, women, and Native American. Single-identity crews help people feel safe and comfortable as they explore possible career paths.

Visit thesca.org to find opportunities for employment on other summer work crews.

Untitled design (13)
Untitled design (11)

About the National Park Foundation (NPF):

As the official nonprofit partner of the National Park Service, the NPF generates private support and builds strategic partnerships to protect and enhance America’s national parks for present and future generations. The NPF helps young adults from across the country spend a summer in a national park while participating in a service corps program. Assignments ranging from invasive species removal to historical preservation and trail restoration, provide on-the-job training, development of leadership skills, and a raised awareness about the myriad of public lands career paths.

The Ice Age Trail Alliance is proud to support an SCA single-identity crew of female-identifying individuals. A single-identity crew creates a welcoming environment for learning new skills and gaining experience in fields which have historically been male-dominated. This crew helps diversify the audience which is qualified for future job opportunities.