The Santa Cruz Mountains Reserve hosts a number of internship opportunities throughout the academic year, as well as during the summer session. Please read through the opportunities below for information on the types of internships we provide for undergraduate students, as well as how to apply.
Santa cruz Mountains Reserve Internships
We run a variety of internship programs focused on enhancing undergraduate students’ compentency and experience with field work, data collection and management, learning native and non-native species, learning how to read landscapes, and understanding basic field methodogies, ecological concepts and land management techniques. In general, no experience or personal vehicle is required for students to apply. However, students must be available for a 6-hour time slot (generally a 9am to 3pm shift with optional 6am to 12pm shifts available for bird counts and other early morning projects). Below is a list of types of surveys and field work student interns may have the opportunity to assist with during the academic year (Fall, Winter, and Spring Quarters) at UC Santa Cruz and the Santa Cruz Mountains Reserve.
Bird Point Count Surveys – Interns conduct bird point counts across forested, coastal prairie, and coastal scrub habitat. Students must be available for early morning shifts (6am – 12pm) in order to maximize our observation of birds. Specific skills learned: Auditory and visual identification of regional bird species.
Continuous Forest Inventory Plots – Interns conduct a variety of surveys to survey and monitor the impact to tree and vegetative communities following wildfire, prescribed burns, and other forestry management treatments and techniques. Specific skills learned: how to measure fuel load (Brown’s fuel transects), tree height and diameter at breast height (DBH), identification of native and non-native plant communities for botanical percent cover surveys, canopy cover, tree damage and mortality surveys, and measuring slope and distance.
Herptile (Amphibian and Reptile) Surveys – Interns conduct a variety of herpetological surveys in order to identify and track populations and life cycles of native and non-native species of amphibians and reptiles across a variety of habitats. Specifc skills learned: how to safely identify, handle, and measure amphibians and reptiles, how to conduct pond surveys for California red-legged frog (federally threatened species), dipnet surveys, coverboard surveys, stream surveys for salamanders, and seining surveys for tadpoles and aquatic amphibians.
Mammal Camera and Sign Surveys – Interns will place and check cameras for large mammals, mesopredators, and small mammals in order to track mammal activity and presence across a variety of habitats. Additionally, students may be tasked with surveying for mammals by track and sign surveys. Specific skills learned: how to identify local mammals as well as some ground foraging birds and other species spotted on cameras, how to set up game cameras, photo analysis and data management, and identification of track and sign of mammals.
Pollinating Insect Surveys – Interns visually identify and track pollinating insects and host plant species as well as collect insects for fine scale identification and natural history collections. Specifc skills learned: how to safely identify and collect pollinating insects, how to conduct a variety of insect collection methodologies including aerial netting, sweep netting, malaise traps, and yellow pan traps. Interns will also learn how to identify and measure features of host plant species and vegetative communities.
Vegetative Mapping Surveys – Interns conduct surveys to map plant communities and vegetative groups and alliances in the field as well as through geospatial techniques. Specifc skills learned: how to identify and key native and non-native plant communities along California’s Central Coast region, how to conduct surveys for specific types of plant communities (i.e. wetland plant surveys), how to use geospatial information software (GIS) in order to track and map plant communities via aerial imagery (satellite, airplane, and drone imagery).
In addition to our ongoing internship programs, we also collaborate with other Natural Reserves and organizations in order to offer more hands-on experiences. Below is a current list of our collaborative internship opportunities available to students.
Small Mammal Undergraduate Research in Forests (SMURF) – Additionally, the Santa Cruz Mountains Reserve co-manages the SMURF internship with the Campus Natural Reserves which is targeted towards giving interns experience handling and ear-tagging small mammals (primarily rodents and insectivores such as shrews). Because of the potential risks of handling rodents and time commitment required, additional field competency and experience is required for students when applying. Specific skills learned: identification of our local small mammal species, how to safely handle small mammals, ear-tagging, setting and baiting sherman traps, cleaning traps, establishing trap grids, and opportunistic camera set up and photo analysis.
For more information on requirements and how to apply for SMURF internship, please visit the Campus Natural Reserves website
Aquatic Benthic Macroinvertebrate Surveys (Summer Session Only) – Interns will conduct stream benthic macroinvertebrate (BMI) surveys across a variety of watersheds in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Due to weather, stream conditions, and gear constraints, this internship is primarily offered as a full-time position (40 hours a week) in the summer and requires students to camp onsite for ease of access to field sites. Specific skills learned: how to identify aquatic benthic macroinvertebrates, how to conduct stream BMI surveys including use of D-nets (kick nets), dip nets, how to measure water quality and variables including pH, temperature, specific conductivity, dissolved oxygen (DO), and how to use dissecting/light microscopes to identify key features of aquatic BMI.
For more information on summer internship opportunities, please find the Santa Cruz Mountains Reserve summer opportunities on the CAMINO website, as well as fill out our google form application.
Types of Internships
We offer multiple types of internship depending on student course load, time expectations, and eligibility for special funded programs.
For Credit and Volunteer Opportunities:
Environmental Studies 84 (ENVS 84), 2-unit Internship: For students wanting an official record and course credits for interning with the Santa Cruz Mountains Reserve. Students do not have to be an ENVS major in order to apply for this type of internship. ENVS 84 interns are required to commit at least 6-hours a week (one 6-hour shift with us a week) for a total of 60-hours over the course of the 10 week quarter. Students are assigned to one crew/project depending on their availability and interests, and will primarily be tasked with conducting field work based on the projects needs and requirements as stated above. Students will also be required to check in with a Faculty Advisor several times per quarter, as well as fill out a weekly journal entry and timesheet. A final paper based on your experiences is also required. If students miss a 6-hour shift, they will be required to make-up the hours either by coming in on another day and assisting with another project (if their schedule allows it), or via another data entry or reading assignment.
For more information on ENVS 84 requirements, please visit the ENVS internship page
Volunteer Internship (6-hour a week, 60 hour a quarter time commitment): For students wanting the experience of the Santa Cruz Mountains Reserve internship without the units or extra course requirements, students are welcome to volunteer intern. Job duties and field activities will be the same as ENVS 84 interns, just without the added paperwork. Students will be required to fill out a volunteer form at the beginning of the quarter.
Opportunistic Volunteer (6-hour time commitment per shift, no total time commitment: For students that may want the experience of conducting biological surveys or learning specific field techniques, but does not have the scheduling/time commitment for a sustained 60 hour times commitment throughout the quarter. Opportunistic Volunteers will be emailed opportunities to join field crews or conduct surveys on an as needed basis. As a note, opportunities to volunteer in a drop-in, drop-out basis may be limited depending on the quarter and availabiliy of Santa Cruz Mountains Reserve staff, available gear, vehicle space, and crew size requirements. Opportunistic Volunteers will be reached out to prior to field days and selected on a first come, first served basis.
Paid Opportunities and Programs
Cultivamos Excelencia Research Scholars: For transfer students, primarily serving students of the Latinx community, Santa Cruz Mountains Reserve works with Cultivamos Excelencia by offering research opportunities to work on our internship projects by conducting field work as well as data mangement, data analysis and report writing. Santa Cruz Mountains Reserve is only able to take on one Cultivamos Excelencia Research Scholar during the academic year out of a limited pool of accepted applicants. For more information on eligibility and how to apply, please visit the Cultivamos Excelencia Research Scholars website.
Center to Advance Mentored, Inquiry-based Opportunities (CAMINO) Summer Interns: For students interested in working with the Santa Cruz Mountains Reserve during the summer, we take on one to two CAMINO students in order to survey the Santa Cruz Mountains regions watersheds, forests, and more for biodiversity and ecosystem help. CAMINO students are required to work 40-hours a week throughout the summer for a period of 8 to 10 weeks. During their time as a CAMINO intern, they will conduct field work and collect data going towards the goal of presenting their work at a CAMINO symposium during the Fall quarter following their summer employment. CAMINO students will work directly with other Santa Cruz Mountains summer technicians and interns during the field season, but will also be required to work on their own project requirements building up to their final research product. For more information on eligibility and how to apply, please visit the CAMINO website.
Paid Student Internships and Research Technician Positions: Occassionally, the Santa Cruz Mountains Reserve will receive grant funding or other funding available for research technician and internship positions. These positions are primarily more available during the summer months (June to August); however, paid positions may also appear throughout the academic year. Job postings will be posted on Handshake, search for “Santa Cruz Mountains Reserve” for open positions, eligibility, and requirements.
How to Apply
To apply for internship positions (Bird Point Counts, Continuous Forest Inventory Plots, Herp Surveys, and Mammal Camera and Sign Surveys) during the academic year (Fall, Winter, and Spring ENVS 84 or volunteer positions), please fill out this Google Form. The internship application will be checked during the final weeks of the previous quarter, and interns who applied will be reached out to in order to set up interviews as soon as possible for open positions starting at the beginning of the subsequent quarter.
For students interested in the SMURF internship during the academic year, please apply on the Campus Natural Reserve website.
If you are a returning student intern and wish to continue your internship experience onto the next quarter, please fill out this Google form for returning students.
If you are interested in applying for summer positions and paid opportunities, please fill out this Google Form and search Santa Cruz Mountains Reserve positions on Handshake.
For all other inquiries, please email Chad Moura, Reserve Director at cwmoura@ucsc.edu
