Supervisor contacts: Laura Brown, Community & Economic Development Educator – New Haven County Extension Center, & Charles Tracy, Connecticut Trail Census Coordinator, Middlesex County Extension Center Contact- Laura Brown: 305 Skiff St, North Haven, CT 06473 Direct: 203- 407-3157 laura.brown@uconn.edu
Office location: Remote. Weekly online meetings (computer required) will be required and some travel around the state may be required to fully participate in the program. Interns will have the opportunity to be present in an office in New Haven or Haddam as needed but the majority of the work hours will be self managed.
Background:
The Connecticut Trail Census www.cttrailcensus.uconn.edu is a statewide volunteer data collection program intended to inform a better understanding of multi-use trail use in the state of Connecticut and to make this important information available to trail user groups, administrators, government agencies, and the general public. The goals of the project are to understand when, who, how, and why people make use of Connecticut’s multi-use trail, educate trail user groups, administrators, state and local government agencies, and the general public about trails and their impacts, obtain multi-year information about trail use, user demographics, economic impacts, and trail amenities for identification of patterns and trends, to promote active citizen participation in monitoring and understanding the value of trails, and to encourage sound trail building and maintenance programs based on data.
Tasks/Responsibilities:
As part of the CT Trail Census project, this internship will involve assisting with all aspects of the Trail Census including input of and basic analysis of survey data, drafting communications, and assisting with educational programs. In particular, the student will be involved with 1) the implementation of a new QR code based survey deployment and short term infrared counts on trails throughout the state, 2) gathering and reviewing trail data in for the new CT Trail Finder website portal, and 3) helping to prepare outreach for a social media campaign on the value of Connecticut’s trails (economic, public health, recreation, tourism, transportation). The student should have the ability to read and summarize literature, excellent communication, writing and organizational skills, and ability to work effectively independently. There will be opportunities for sharing this scholarly work with peers through a peer reviewed journal piece, presentations, conferences and webinars.
Date ranges and work times: Remote. Weekly online meetings (computer required) will be required and some travel around the state may be required to fully participate in the program. Interns will have the opportunity to be present in an office in New Haven or Haddam as needed but the majority of the work hours will be self managed. Dates and work hours will be mutually agreed upon at the start of the internship.
Learning objectives:
- Understand concepts and protocols for measuring, recording and publishing the impacts of state and community outdoor recreation facilities;
- Learn about the multiple values of community and long-distance shared use trails;
- Learn how state agencies partner with local and private conservation organizations to advance and promote outdoor recreation.
- Enhance their skills in educational communications (writing and verbal presentation skills) for a public audience
Mentorship commitment:
In addition to assisting with the required learning documentation and resume review, Charles Tracy and Laura Brown will work closely with the intern to discover key learning objectives and interests within the scope of the Trail Census project. We have found weekly meetings to be very successful ( our leadership team currently meets weekly by WebEx) and we would envision the intern participating in these meetings. We would also encourage the intern to participate in Trail Census trainings, meetings and activities around the state proving them with connections and career contacts in our program partner organizations such as the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the Connecticut Forest and Park Association and the National Park Service. We will also support the student in identifying additional related learning and career opportunities following the internship experience.
Compensation: $16/hour, 15 hours per week for 10 weeks ~ $2,400.
Disclaimer
Please note: Job and internship postings are being provided for informational purposes only. Anyone interested in applying for one of these positions is responsible for verifying all related information. The Urban and Community Studies Program, nor the University is recommending these employers nor guaranteeing the accuracy of the information furnished in the job posting