NYC Park Ranger Conservation
The New York City Parks Department offers an interesting urban environmental volunteer internship for high school students every spring and fall. It’s a great way to see a different side of the conservation world, and can be a perfect choice for a student interested in environmental issues.
The Ranger Conservation Corps is a great urban environmental internship for high school students who are interested in the natural world or environmental issues.
Our Ranger Conservation Corps interns gain experience while working with the Urban Park Rangers on environmental restoration in natural areas in our flagship parks. Participants may go on exciting field trips including canoeing, overnight camping, and more. Interns receive community service hours, and the experience looks great on a college application!
We offer two Ranger Conservation Corps sessions each year (in the fall and spring), and each session lasts approximately eight (8) weeks. The program occurs one day a week, on a school day afternoon for 2 to 2.5 hours.
How do I get started? Click here.
How do I expand this narrative arc? If environment and community activism are in your narrative arc, think about one of these other interesting projects:
Bring greenery to your concrete jungle by launching a Hybrid Urban Bioscape.
Study sustainable urban design at an interesting, nearby and provocative summer program based in Brooklyn
Do you know that there’s lots of soil contamination in NYC? Start a campaign to Save the Earth with Sunflowers (which draw heavy metals from the soil).
Promote energy conservation through a campaign to paint the dark roofs of buildings white with The White Roof Project.
HOT TIP: Jobs are in high demand among teenagers and look great on college applications. As an added bonus, the NYC Park Ranger program is also a volunteer gig. You’ll double your impact if you teacher recommendations are supported by the recommendation from your adult Ranger mentor in this program.