The Environmental & Outdoor Leadership Program


The Environmental & Outdoor Leadership Program is an internship program that exposes Philadelphia high school students to nature & the outdoor industry through lessons in local conservation, watershed protection, leadership development, and career exploration. This is a joint internship program of Audubon Mid-Atlantic (AMA) and the Philadelphia Outward Bound School (POBS).

Program Duration: This is an 18 Week Program (Spring thru Summer season) starting in the month of May. The program will begin as an after-school & Saturday program. Over the summer, the interns would meet during the day.

The Program offers:

  • Lessons & activities in a wide variety of environmental topics (plants, birds, trees, climate change, and watershed protection).

  • Teambuilding opportunities that allow the high school interns in the program to bond with program staff and with each other. Through the facilitation of Outward Bound instructors, the interns learn skills in communication, teamwork, goal setting, and getting out of their comfort zone.

  • Personal development that prepare the students for future career opportunities. This includes a career panel and opportunities for job preparation (presentations, mock interviews, etc). The career panel allows the interns to gain insight to a variety of environmental careers. The past few career panels included professionals working in education, wildlife photography, animal husbandry, environmental engineering, ornithology, government relations, program management, and urban forestry.

  • Service opportunities with partner organizations in East Fairmount Park.

Students will:

·       Participate in the environmental & teambuilding activities offered in the program.

·       Assist with public events at The Discovery Center.

·       Collaborate with other interns in the cohort to design a final capstone project.

·       Perform other duties as assigned.

Requirements: 

  • Students must have their working papers.

  • Live in the city of Philadelphia. Preference is given to students living in North Philadelphia in vicinity to The Discovery Center.

  • Students must have after-school & weekend availability. Students must also have availability in the summer of 2024.

  • The student must be in 9th-11th grade.

  • An interest in the outdoors.

This is an after-school/ weekend internship that pays $15.00 per hour for up to 10 hours/week during school year and 18 hours/week over the summer.
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