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Listed below
are just a few of the available internships at Wetlands, including
a basic outline of intern tasks and skills/experiences needed for
each internship. In most cases these are not absolutely required,
but are included to help applicants decide which internship may
be right for him or her. The internship will include skills training,
but applicants may want to intern in an area where they already
have a head start.
Novice
Internships
Novice
internships are entry-level positions for people new to social change
work or who can only commit a very limited amount of time. Rather
than focusing on a specific project or campaign, novice interns
work on a variety of projects as the need arises, in order the expose
the intern to a wide range of projects and tasks. For applicants
who are unsure of which project they wish to pursue this is an excellent
starting point. Over time, interns involved in the novice program
may progress into other positions.
Advanced
Internships
Media
Internship
For years, Wetlands has brought environmental, human rights and
animal rights issues into the news in New York City, the world's
most vast and competitive media market. We are now making available
an opportunity for intensely committed people to learn the skills
that have made this possible from experienced Wetlands media activists.
Responsibilities:
* Merge and update the media lists of activists working on human
rights, anti-militarism, labor, solidarity, animal rights, rainforest,
community gardens, and a range of other issues into NYC's most
complete, detailed, and efficient media list.
* Research various publications' policy on upcoming events listings,
and set up a system for faxing them information.
* Update media contacts on Wetlands mailing list.
* Research media strategy through publications like Primetime
Activism and the Ruckus Guide to Direct Action Media.
* Draft media advisories and press releases.
* Serve as a media spokesperson at demonstrations, marches, rallies,
and direct actions.
* Participate in off-site media for direct actions: faxing news
releases, hyping stories to assignment editors, conducting telephone
interviews, providing video, photos and press packets to media,
and more!
Prerequisites/ Required Skills:
* Strong writing and communication skills.
* Excellent Organizational skills.
* Strong Computer Skills.
Civil
Disobedience/ Protest Intern
This internship is a chance of a lifetime to learn action skills
from veteran blockaders, banner droppers, tree sitters, hunt saboteurs,
tripod climbers, office occupiers, street theater performers,
puppet and costume makers, march and rally organizers while participating
in the organizing of actions with Wetlands, Rainforest Relief,
and other groups.
Responsibilities:
* Read books on direct action including The Handbook for Nonviolent
Action and The Earth First! Direct Action Manual.
* Watch direct action films and videos like "A Call to Direct
Action" and "Breaking Free."
* Attend nonviolence trainings and study consensus process.
* Work with an affinity group in organizing direct actions, taking
on responsibilities including researching issues and targets;
scouting locations; researching, building, and /or acquiring special
equipment, creating banners, signs, literature, press releases,
and press packets, recruiting participants for the action and
support roles, alerting media to the upcoming event, and much
more.
* Participate in direct action or support roles including interacting
with police or media, leading lawful support demonstrations, photography/
videography, and jail support.
Prerequisites/Required Skills:
* Commitment to abide by affinity group consensus, e.g. code of
nonviolence, court strategy
Earth
and Animal Liberation Support
Earth and Animal Liberation is a new group created to increase
public understanding of the philosophy and tactics of underground
direct action groups and to provide support to those accused and
convicted of participating in their activities. EALS activities
are strictly legal.
Responsibilities:
* Circulate manuals, video, and books addressing underground earth
and animal liberation activity.
* Develop web sites intended to increase public understanding
of philosophy and tactics of underground direct action groups.
* Organize workshops on security and legal defense of activists
accused of underground activity.
* Organize workshops on security and legal defense for activities
who may face legal harassment relating to underground activity.
* Support and maintain contact with animal and earth liberation
prisoners.
* Use alternative and mainstream media to expose police repression
of aboveground and underground earth and animal liberation prisoners.
* Develop and sell merchandise to raise funds and circulate direct
action imagery.
* Create a model for regional Earth and Animal Liberation Support
groups.
Data
Manager
As both a grassroots activist group and an activist information
resource center, Wetlands maintains a range of databases and spreadsheets
on volunteers, NGOs, media, and other subjects. We are looking
for someone to coordinate and expand them as well as to increase
their efficiency.
Responsibilities:
*Streamline/expand and merge/interlink databases.
* Train high school interns in data entry; supervise, assess their
work.
* Complete several hours of data entry weekly.
* Prepare written instructions for using all databases.
Prerequisites/Required Skills:
* Strong knowledge of programs including (at least 2 required)
Microsoft Access, and Filemaker Pro.
* Excellent typing ability.
* Dataentry and database design experience.
* Limited human resource management experience (not required).
* At least some familiarity with both Mac OS and Windows (strongly
preferred, but not required).
* Ability to write clear, concise instructions, accessible to
people with varying levels of English proficiency..
Animal
Rights Internships
Animal Rights Resource and Outreach Internship
Since 1995, Wetlands has been a leading information source and
resource for local animal rights activists. We maintain an extensive
library of animal rights books, videos, and informational files,
and house a huge and highly varied collection of animal rights
literature in bulk quantities, which we distribute free of charge
to activists and other who want to learn more on animal rights.
We are currently seeking an intern to coordinate and publicize
these resources.
Reponsibilities:
*Assist in organizing monthly animal rights forums with expert
speakers, letterwriting on current animal rights issues, new animal
rights films, and upcoming events announcements.
* Publicize library resources and animal rights events to media,
other organizations, community, and students.
* Attend meetings, demonstrations, and other events of other local
animal rights organizations as a Wetlands representative.
* Maintain clearinghouse of animal rights literature from a range
of local and national organizations.
*Maintain, organize, and catalog Wetlands' extensive library of
animal rights books and videos.
* Provide resources and support to campus animal rights groups
in the New York metropolitan area.
* Write updates on Wetlands' animal rights activities for our
monthly Wetlands Works newsletter.
* Manage high school animal rights interns and volunteers.
* Reply to animal rights information requests.
* Speak or find experts to speak at schools and other settings
that request animal rights speakers.
* Coordinate and staff information booths at conferences, concerts,
and other events.
* Develop animal rights content for the Wetlands website.
Prerequisites/Required Skills:
* Some public speaking ability
* Leadership skills (for intern management)
* Strong knowledge of animal rights issues or willingness to commit
to hours of reading and research
* Limited graphic design/layout skills (for creating displays)
* Writing ability
Anti-Fur Internship
Wetlands is a leader in the fight against the confinement, torture,
and killing of animals for fur garments. We are currently seeking
an intern to conduct research for and participate as a key organizer
of this campaign. Responsibilities: * Take a major role in organizing
anti-fur protests and other events * Develop anti-fur educational
materials for activists and the public, including a boycott/protest
target list of stores that sell fur in NYC * Conduct extensive
research and develop detailed files on the NYC fur industry and
Federated Department Stores, owner of Macy's, ADL's primary fur
protest target * Draft and circulate (via email) activist updates
on the fur industry and its allies, including dates and locations
of fur sales, legislative and public relations initiatives by
Fur Commission USA, trappers organizations , anti-fur actions,
etc. Required Skills: * Experience in protest organizing strongly
preferred. * Strong research and organizational skills * Willingness
to make a long-term commitment to the internship is strongly preferred.
Animal
Rights Legislative Intern
New York City at this time severely lacks strong, coordinated
grassroots lobbying and electoral efforts centered around animal
rights issues. Wetlands' Animal Rights Legislative Intern will
build the foundation to turn the NYC animal rights movement into
a powerhouse in these areas.
Responsibilities:
* Lobby legislators and consulates on local, state, federal, and
international animal rights issues.
* Conduct research for a planned animal rights ballot initiative
in New York City.
* Organize voters in critical legislative districts.
* Act as group liaison to organizations working on federal, state,
and municipal legislative initiatives on animal protection issues,
including the Society for Animal Protective Legislation, the Committee
for Humane Legislation, Humane Society of the United States, The
New York State Coalition for Animals, The Fund for Animals and
the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
* Monitor animal rights legislation on the state, federal, and
municipal levels.
* Draft comments on behalf of the organization on animal-related
regulations, letters to legislators, and letters to the editors
of newspapers and magazines, as well as op-ed columns on animal
issues.
* Develop legislative "scorecard" to track voting records of city,
state, and federal elected officials on animal issues.
* Compile research on animal rights legislative affairs into website
(web design experience is not mandatory).
* Outreach to New York City animal rights activists to activate
them on legislative and electoral affairs.
Prerequisites /Required Skills:
* Graduates of CEC Summer Training Academy preferred, but not
required.
* Strong writing and editing skills.
* Excellent research skills and reading ability.
* Interest in campaign strategy.
* Excellent organizational skills.
Anti-Sweatshop
Internship
Wetlands, both on our own and in coalition with other groups has
addressed worker oppression in Burma, Honduras, Russia, Indonesia,
Haiti, Saipan, China, and the USA, through demonstrations, civil
disobedience, marches, public forums, production and distribution
of literature, and other tactics. Anti-sweatshop interns play
an integral leadership role in these campaigns.
Responsibilities:
* Act as liaison to other local and national anti-sweatshop groups.
* Work with our North American Wilderness Campaigner to organize
demonstrations, major direct actions, street theater, leafleting,
etc, on our campaign against Gap, Inc, for their use of sweatshop
labor and their owners' destruction of redwood forests.
* Run information booths and speak at anti-sweatshop events regarding
activism against Gap, Inc.
* Organize speaking events on sweatshop issues at Wetlands.
* Serve as resource person on sweatshop issues, addressing inquiries,
disseminating resources developing files, and collecting anti-sweatshop
books, videos, and literature.
* Develop a section of the Wetlands website devoted to sweatshop
issues.
* Publicize Wetlands work on sweatshops and the Gap campaign itself
by getting groups to link to our website, drafting articles for
publications, being a presence at anti-sweatshop events, and disseminating
our campaign literature.
* Speak at schools, to community and religious groups, etc.
* Provide leadership to and recruit volunteers and interns to
work on sweatshop issues.
* Update campaign literature and press materials to reflect new
information.
* Create sweatshop displays at the Earthstation, the education
space in our nightclub.
Prerequisites:
Intern MUST have a strong interest in sweatshop issues. Organizing
experience is preferred, but not required.
Indigenous
Rights Internship
Wetlands has fought in solidarity with indigenous people worldwide
in struggles for social and environmental justice. We have challenged
logging, mining, natural gas, and oil extraction on traditional
indigenous lands, fought against the forced relocation of the
Dineh and other indigenous people, challenged hydroelectric projects
that would create flood native peoples' homelands, publicized
indigenous political prisoners like Leonard Peltier.
Responsibilities:
* Build ties with the Colombian American and Ecuadorian American
communities, indigenous rights and indigenous community organizations.
* Participate in organizing major direct actions against corporations
involved in violating indigenous rights.
* Stay abreast of other local actions for indigenous rights and
act as a Wetlands representative in coalition efforts.
* Organize educational forums on indigenous rights issues.
Prerequisites/ Helpful Skills:
* Fluency in Spanish, ability to translate written and spoken
Spanish, and ability to write and speak publicly (optional).
* Familiarity with indigenous rights, international environmental,
justice, and rainforest struggles.
* Interest and experience in organizing direct action, civil disobedience,
street theater, and educational leaflets.
* Strong writing and speaking skills.
Internship
Outreach/ Recruitment Assistant
* Read and answer internship inquiries and applications
* Maintain internship database.
* Post information on Wetlands internships to Websites and activism
listservs.
* Arrange, coordinate, and staff information booths at concerts,
conferences, street fairs, and other events to publicize Wetlands
internships.
* Assist internship program coordinator in conducting internship
interviews.
* Develop database of high school and college internship programs.
* Coordinate mailings to high school and college internship programs
and student organizations.
* Ensure that an ample supply of internship information packets
is always available for information tables, Wetlands Earthstation
information requests etc.
* Work with internship program coordinator to complete forms and
respond to inquiries from school internship programs.
Preferred Skills:
* Strong interpersonal skills
* Excellent organizational and research skills
* Some knowledge of the Internet and Microsoft Excel
* Excellent typing ability
Wetlands TV Producer
Wetlands is interested in creating a public access television
show featuring video clips of our street actions and updates on
our campaigns on a weekly basis.
Responsibilities:
*Videotaping or recruiting volunteers to videotape, civil disobedience,
protests, and other events.
*Editing footage into a coherent weekly public access television
program.
*Negotiating to air program during heavy viewing times on all
public access stations.
Preferred Skills
*First-hand experience or formal training with grassroots television
production
*Access to and familiarity with video (Superbeta, Hi8, or digital)
and editing equipment.
Prerequisites:
*Extensive access to Hi-8, Superbeta, or digital video camera
*Access to video editing equipment
*Experience or formal training in video
Wetlands
Computer Technician
Wetlands' office uses a variety of Macintosh and Windows-based computers.
We need interns who can update our office computers.
Responsibilities:
*Regularly run diagnostics and update versions for all programs
on office computers
*Troubleshoot hardware and software problems
*Sell machines from within Wetlands' collection of older computer
equipment to fund the purchase of more modern computers
*Install new hardware
*Establish a network to link office terminals
Prerequisites/Preferred skills
*High level of proficiency in use of Mac OS, Windows, and major
applications
*Strong familiarity with computer resale market
*Broad knowledge of diagnostic and repair software
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