Internships: Gen Z for the Trees

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Do you want to make a difference for our planet and get hands-on work experience at an international conservation NGO? Rainforest Partnership (RP) is a non-profit based in Austin, Texas, with team members in the US and Peru. We conserve and restore tropical rainforests by working with communities to develop sustainable livelihoods that empower and respect both people and nature.

RP is currently looking for interns to join our youth branch, Gen Z for the Trees.

A Program Intern will work with the Gen Z for the Trees team to strengthen Rainforest Partnership’s connection with youth and the team’s own initiatives. Gen Z for the Trees is a youth-led movement to educate, inspire and empower Generation Z across the globe to work for net zero deforestation by 2030.

This volunteer internship is unpaid but may be claimed for class credit. The expected time commitment is 5-10 hours per week.

OUR VALUES

The ideal candidate will share in Rainforest Partnership’s core values, which include:

1. Entrepreneurial: resourceful, innovative, and action oriented.
2. Efficient: organized and process/procedure driven.
3. Empathetic: respect and understanding toward other’s perspectives.
4. Authentic: genuine and self-aware.
5. Positive: focused on moving us toward desired results.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Outreach coordination
• Gathering detailed information about public and private actors in the rainforest
• Drafting/conducting communications (e.g. letters to corporate boards)
• Monitoring and filtering inbound communications
• Working with the team on programmatic planning
• Curating educational and inspirational resources

QUALIFICATIONS

• Advanced research and writing skills
• Proficient in English (other languages such as Indonesian, Malay, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, and Hindi are a plus)
• Able to compose compelling narratives
• Punctual and deadline driven
• Adaptable and able to learn new concepts quickly
• Team player with the ability and interest to develop relationships with others
• Background knowledge of rainforest ecosystems preferred

If you have any questions, please contact us by email: info@rainforestpartnership.org

AVAILABLE TEAMS

BEEF (2 openings)

• Research Volunteer Intern:
• Complete a research project on pesticide and fertilizer usage, fires, microbial ecology, soil degradation, and land use change in the Amazon rainforest and surrounding areas.
• Work with the Soya team in researching actors in the Amazon and Cerrado region, especially suppliers to fast food restaurant chains and related brands.
• Action Volunteer Intern:
• Establish connections with the U.S. and Global Roundtables on Sustainable Beef.
• Build partnerships or collaborations with climate organizations and schools to promote solutions and alternatives to beef, such as reducing food waste, choosing plant-based proteins, and supporting local farms with sustainable practices.
• Transform research content into blogs and accessible educational content.

SOYA (2 openings)

• Research Volunteer Intern:
• Complete a research project in collaboration with the Beef team on the impact of pesticide usage on soil and water quality.
• Explore solutions to integrate the highly fragmented soya industry with Scope 3 emissions calculations.
• Action Volunteer Intern:
• Send letters to chocolate companies calling on them to require using only sustainably-produced soy as an ingredient, and to implement specific transparency policies to support claims of sustainability.
• Work on contacting and advising FAIRR Initiative, and signatories to the statement of support, to revise the Cerrado Manifesto to include regulations on pesticide usage.

PALM OIL (2 openings)

• Research Volunteer Intern:
• Monitor published corporate palm oil mill lists for mills which are missing a Universal Mill List ID number.
• Create and maintain a dataset which can be applied as layers for corporate mills on Global Forest Watch.
• Data analysis skills are preferred; experience with GIS is optional.
• Action Volunteer Intern:
• Advocate for palm oil growers to adopt commitments, policies, and technology for traceability to plantation.
• Transform research content into blogs and accessible educational content.

TIMBER, PULP, AND PAPER (2 openings)

• Research Volunteer Intern:
• Research tree planting programs which sell carbon offset credits to evaluate their true impact.
• Identify regions where commercial logging is at its highest, and which species of tropical trees are most commonly harvested by the timber, pulp, and paper industry.
• Compile information on the phenomenon of illegal logging permits.
• Action Volunteer Intern:
• Campaign for the use of alternatives to wood and wood pulp, such as bamboo, hemp, or downcycled plastics, in construction, packaging, and other industries.
• Transform research content into blogs and accessible educational content.

FINANCE (2 openings)

• Research Volunteer Intern:
• Develop an assessment report identifying areas to strengthen transparency with regard to CDP methodology for Scope 3 emissions reporting; SEC regulation of climate disclosures; and the TCFD and emissions from agriculture in addition to energy and transportation.
• Work on joint initiatives with the Law and Policy team with the potential to develop a research project on oil drilling and mining concessions in rainforests.
• Background knowledge in business, investing, finance, and land use issues and Indigenous rights is highly preferred.
• Action Volunteer Intern:
• Advocate for banks to implement policies to reduce lending to projects which drive tropical deforestation, regardless of the legality of the deforestation; advocate for insurance firms to not insure such projects; and for investment funds to screen out investments in companies with poor performance with regard to forest risk commodities to pressure companies to change.
• Transform research content into blogs, accessible educational content, and outgoing communications.
• Background knowledge in business, investing, finance, and land use issues and Indigenous rights is highly preferred.

MEDIA (1 opening)

• Podcast Developer:
• Work with the Media team and Rainforest Partnership team members to script, record, and produce a Gen Z for the Trees podcast.
• Invite researchers, youth activists, and representatives from relevant organizations or companies to interviews.
• Experience in communications, radio, or sound design is required.

CALL TO ACTION (1 opening)

• Campaign Assistant:
• Support the executive team in a campaign to push grocery companies to commit to zero-deforestation by 2030 and implement tangible sourcing and auditing policies to achieve this goal.
• Conduct outreach to schools, organizations, and media outlets to educate communities on the issue and gather petition signatures.
• Nonprofit or student campaign organizing experience preferred.