Position: Palouse Place-Based Education Program - AmeriCorps Education Crew

Location: Pullman, Washington

Service Period: Preferred start date is February 16th, and latest end date is December 15th.  Service period start, length, and end are all flexible depending on hours served per week. Applicants must submit a completed application on myAmeriCorps at least two weeks before their desired start date. (See Application Instructions below for more information.)

Full/Part Time: Half-time equivalent, 900 total hours (~20 hrs per wk, with lots of weekly flexibility depending on start of service term. For example, current students may start in February at 10 hours a week if they can work ~30 hours a week during the summer to complete the total hours requirement by the December deadline.

Compensation: Competitive AmeriCorps living allowance, plus education award upon completing service hours (see following).

Program Benefits:

• Living allowance totalling about $700 per month
• AmeriCorps education award of over $7000 to be used towards student debt, current tuition or materials costs, student housing, or other eligible education costs.
• Extensive training in topics such as lesson plan development, application of Next-Gen Science Standards and other WA K-12 learning standards, native plant identification, and principles of ecology, biology, environmental science, education/outreach, and place-based learning.
• Priority for Phoenix Conservancy and partner employment opportunities after service
• Priority hiring in all future federal job applications
• Free health insurance coverage available
• Housing assistance (if eligible)
• Childcare assistance (if eligible)

Service Areas: Children/Youth ,  Environment ,  Education , Conservation / Restoration , 

Skills: Written Communication , Team Work / Collaboration , Basic Computer Literacy , Teaching/Tutoring , General "Soft" Skills , Environmental Science ,  Conservation , Grassland Ecology , Outreach and Education , Youth Education and Development , Creativity , Social Justice , Basic Understanding of K-12 Topics such as Biology , Earth Sciences , Engineering , Mathematics , Art , History , or English . Proficiency in language(s) in addition to English is also a huge plus.

Position Description:

The beautiful prairie that once covered the rolling hills of the Palouse is almost completely lost, with less than 1% remaining. Restoring Palouse Prairie is crucial to prevent further losses in biodiversity and ecosystem services. The biggest challenges to restoration are limitations in public land, plant materials, and funding; but perhaps most importantly a lack of public awareness. Even among lifelong residents, very few know what the Palouse Prairie is. Given that less than 1% remains intact, this is perhaps unsurprising, as opportunities to see it are few and far between.

This is especially unfortunate for children growing up in the Palouse, who have few opportunities to spend time in nature and develop an ecological sense of place. Connecting with nature is vital for childhood development and education, particularly for developing the capacity to form ideas, think critically, and spark creativity, as well as for physical and mental health. Sadly, even among parents trying to ensure that their children have these vital opportunities, few know where to find these "wild" spaces, and many feel they have to leave the region to find them. Limited public access to such spaces is an especially problematic obstacle for lower-income families, and Whitman County has one of the highest poverty rates in Washington State. To address this problem, we need projects that increase public access to both native areas and relevant educational resources.

The Phoenix Conservancy’s AmeriCorps Palouse Place-based Education Program aims to achieve this through a unique combination of education and conservation service work. A team of education-focused members will develop and help implement Palouse Prairie related educational materials for K-12 teachers, while a team of restoration-focused members will install “Pocket Prairie” outdoor classrooms on public school campuses and restore prairie habitat on other public lands.

Member Duties: Education crew members will receive training in place-based and environmental education, lesson and project plan development, Next Generation Science Standards, project development, relevant technological skills, creativity, student engagement, and communication, among other topics. AmeriCorps members on both crews will also receive training to build valuable skills for working in conservation, restoration, and related science careers. These include principles of ecological management, plant identification, invasive species control, conservation planning, technical writing, outreach, project development, verbal and written communication, and effective teamwork.

Americorps members will be regularly provided with opportunities to build leadership skills by rotating education crew lead duties each week and leading project plan development. Members may also have opportunities to assist with project development with The Phoenix Conservancy's national-scale project (Great Plains prairie) and global-scale project (Madagascar rainforest). 

Terms: Must complete 900 total service hours, ideally over the course of about 10 months (depending on exact hours per week worked), and must complete them by December 15th, 2025 to be eligible for certain benefits. Personal transporation required for getting to and from meeting areas in Pullman. This service position permits working at another job or attending school during off hours.

The Phoenix Conservancy's General Expectations:

As member of The Phoenix Conservancy team, Education Crew Members are expected to meet general expectations. The expectations laid out herein provide a generalized code of conduct for all team members. All organizational members are expected to uphold the following baseline expectations in addition to those specified by each individual role. Each expectation follows directly from core organizational values of The Phoenix Conservancy. These expectations are in place to ensure a culture of mutual respect, foster effective communication, and to maintain an efficient working environment to move the organization closer to our North Star goals. At all levels, AmeriCorps positions and participation in the organization are contingent upon upholding these basic expectations.

The Phoenix Conservancy Organization Background:

Founded in late 2016, The Phoenix Conservancy (TPC) has rapidly grown as a grassroots, startup nonprofit, having put in thousands of hours of work restoring Palouse prairie, Great Plains shortgrass prairie, and rainforests in Madagascar. Though seemingly disparate, these ecosystems were selected for their close fit with our three project selection criteria on a local (Palouse Prairie), national (Great Plains prairie), and global (Madagascar rainforest) scale. Our project sites represent ecosystems that 1) Have less than 10% of original ecosystem intact, 2) Have high biodiversity, as measured by a combination of species number and/or uniqueness, and 3) Present pragmatic opportunities for our organization to have an impact.

The Phoenix Conservancy is an equal opportunity organization that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws. This policy applies to all employment practices within our organization, including hiring, recruiting, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, leave of absence, compensation, benefits, training, and apprenticeship. The Phoenix Conservancy makes hiring decisions based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs at the time.