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
Jack Bilby
Jack Bilby was selected for Arid Recovery's first graduate position. He had completed his Bachelor of Science with Honours at Flinders University, studying the reintroduction of western quolls to the Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park. He joined Arid Recovery for seven months to focus on climate change adaptation research, intending to study use of soaks as a drought relief measure. He had to pivot however after large rainfall events, and instead worked on understanding vegetation recovery post-drought, including repeating a seed bank study from 15 years prior, collecting data from the long-term monitoring set and exploring remote sensing for monitoring vegetation.
Molly Barlow
Molly interned at Arid Recovery for the intensive monitoring period right after kowaris were first released on the reserve in 2022. She supported Ecologist Genevieve Hayes with daily radiotracking to record survival and habitat use of the new kowaris, checking cameras to monitor progress of mother kowaris raising young at their dens, and regular trapping to check the collar fit and health of animals. Molly came back to Arid Recovery in 2023 on a contract to monitor and manage rabbit incursions, conduct fence checks and assist on ecological surveys. She is now undertaking a PhD at the University of Adelaide understanding drivers of decline for kowaris, including studying the new population at Arid Recovery.
Harrison Talarico
Harry joined Arid Recovery in February 2022, starting his internship with the annual pitfall trapping survey. He stayed on into late 2022 picking up contract work on the Commonwealth Safe Haven project. This involved intensive work with the team preparing the reserve for the reintroduction of kowaris, including clearing feral cats, reducing rabbit populations and preparing fencing and soft release pens. He was delighted to join the team that collected kowaris from the wild population in far northeastern South Australia, and was part of the intensive weeks of tracking the kowaris we released as they settled in.
Courtney Proctor
Courtney commenced a three month internship with Arid Recovery in February 2019. She had previously completed a Bachelor of Science (Animal Behaviour) at Flinders University. Whilst at Arid Recovery Courtney was able to experience many different elements of the conservation and research program. Courtney spent majority of her time helping the team complete various jobs around the reserve including radio-tracking quolls, trapping bettongs and monitoring stick-nest rat populations using camera traps. Her favourite experiences included participating in the annual pitfall trapping and bettong trapping surveys.
Anna Rogers
Anna commenced a two month internship with Arid Recovery in November 2018. She split her time between two projects; the western quoll reintroduction program and the UNSW prey naivety experiment, where she was heavily involved in radio-tracking both quolls and bettongs. Prior to joining Arid Recovery, Anna completed a Bachelor of Science majoring in Animal Science at the University of Adelaide. She has now returned to UoA to complete her Honours, where she is studying the effectiveness of audio-lures in Felixer traps.