Internships
Arid Recovery offers internships for recent graduates looking to deepen their practical experience in ecology and conservation.
This is an opportunity to work with a small team to gain hands-on experience in the spectrum of land management, ecology, research and communications necessary to advance conservation programs.Interns will assist staff in day-to-day operation of Arid Recovery. At various times you will be working with and supervised by the Ecologist, Community Coordinator, Conservation Land Management Officer and General Manager.
Please note that applications have closed for 2024. Applications for 2025 will be announced on this page.
You will do a diverse range of tasks including:
Collection and collation of ecological monitoring data (including vegetation surveys, track transects and vertebrate trapping)
Community engagement through tours, events, market days & school visits
Written communications and fundraising
Administrative and housekeeping tasks
Fence and infrastructure maintenance and feral animal control
Participation in research projects with Arid Recovery staff and collaborators
Working with traditional owners
Housekeeping tasks essential for running a small NGO
Accommodation and a living allowance ($200 per week) will be provided, as well as a contribution towards your travel to and from Roxby Downs ($800 total). Opportunities for paid casual work (tour guiding, helping on education visits) will be available.
Dates
First intake: February - April
Second intake: May - July
Second intake: August - October
Selection criteria
A Bachelor degree in Science or Natural Resource Management
Some fieldwork experience in ecology or land management
A willingness to learn and to take on a range of tasks
Physical fitness for undertaking manual work outdoors
A willingness to live in a small community in a remote area
Valid driver’s licence
Fluency in English
Eligible for living and working in Australia for at least 4 months
Manual and 4WD driving experience are desirable
Bringing your own car (for personal use) is advantageous, but not essential. Successful candidates must be willing to comply with government directives and internal workplace requirements for managing the impact of COVID-19.
How to apply
Look for the internship advertisement on NRMjobs in October/November each year and submit your CV and a one-page cover letter to [email protected].
Late applications will not be considered. Please include your name in the filename of all documents and specify in your cover letter whether you are applying for the first or second intake.
With thanks to the Rendere Trust and Upotipotpon Foundation for their ongoing support of internships at Arid Recovery.
Past Interns
Arvind Srinivasgowda
Arvind is our current intern. He came to Australia from India in 2022 to complete a Masters at the University of Western Australia, researching traits in ornate dragons. He regularly amazes the team with stories from his work on tigers, leopards and elephants, and managing human-wildlife conflict, in India's national parks. Arvind's first week was the intensive cage trapping survey for reintroduced species.
Charlotte Hogan
Charlotte made significant contributions to the team during a period of understaffing at Arid Recovery. She helped organise the 27th annual trapping event and successfully radio-tracked a quoll that had infiltrated the quoll-free Main Exclosure. Charlotte spearheaded the establishment of an extensive insect database, a pioneering initiative in our long-standing practice of collecting invertebrates during our annual trapping. One of her favourite achievments while at Arid Recovery was the relocation of a western quoll to the northern Flinders Rangers. Charlotte is now embarking on a fellowship with the Smithsonian in Panama.
Ben Reay
Ben joined us from Sydney via the Flinders Rangers where he had spent time helping to monitor the reintroduced population of western quolls in Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park. He helped with running the launch event for the Kokatha Pastoral and Arid Recovery partnership, as well as the annual visit by our Board of Directors and Scientific Advisory Panel. Ben worked with Ecologist Genevieve Hayes to collect data for annual vegetation quadrat monitoring at an important moment for recording recovery from the 2018-20 drought. Ben went on to work on reintroduction project for red-tailed phascogales with the SA Department for Environment and Water.
Victoria Love
Tori interned with Arid Recovery between May and August 2023. Between studying her degree, she exercised her passion for science communication by producing the University of Adelaide's Biology Society podcast. Great at talking with people from all walks of life, and with some outback hospitality experience, Tori made a wonderful contribution to Arid Recovery's community programs. This included the sunset tours, an open day with record attendance and preparation for a major event launching the new partnership between Arid Recovery and Kokatha Pastoral. Tori was immediately employed on completing her internship, taking up a role as a Community Landscape Officer for the SA Arid Landscapes Board where we still have the pleasure of connecting with her in the region.
Emma Randle
Emma joined Arid Recovery for the annual small vertebrate piftall survey and stayed through the peak of record-breaking cat activity experienced in April 2023. She helped to survey for signs of cat incursions and to manage perimeter traps during this busy time keeping the Arid Recovery Reserve secure from predators. Emma now works in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara lands supporting Aboriginal ranger teams and communities looking after Country in the remote northwest of South Australia.