Intern With the Edmonton Valley Zoo!

Job Description: Exploring Biodiversity’s Role in Supporting Climate Change Adaptation Goals
Job Type: Temporary Full-time
Location: Edmonton, hybrid working model is available

Application Deadline: July 30, 2023
Start Date: September 2023
End Date: April 2024
Hours of Work: 35 hr/week
Salary: $26.57/hr

Minimum Education Required: Some Post-Secondary

Description

Climate change is a major driver of biodiversity loss. In turn, the loss of biodiversity can accelerate climate change processes, as the capacity of degraded environments to perform valued ecosystem services decreases. In order to achieve our climate change adaptation and mitigation goals, cities therefore have a responsibility to address these two challenges and consider the interactions between them.

The City of Edmonton is in a unique position to help fill this knowledge, education, and communications gap. The Edmonton Valley Zoo is one of only seven Arctic Ambassador Centers (AAC) in Canada. To date AACs work collaboratively on research, education, and action programs that address the challenges polar bears face in a warming Arctic.

The successful candidate will help explore how the City of Edmonton and the Edmonton Valley Zoo can expand our work as an AAC to more directly address the interactions between climate adaptation strategies and biodiversity.

Tasks:

The role of the successful candidate will be to research and integrate climate change adaptation strategies and education into the Edmonton Valley Zoo’s four conservation programs. These include:

1. Conservation of wild species: Complete a literature search of how biodiversity supports climate change adaptation initiatives.
2. Endangered species breeding programs: Help the Zoo explore, understand and manage climate risks to current and future endangered species breeding programs.
3. Implementation of Green Practices: Review and propose updates to the Zoo’s 2016 Sustainability Plan by researching and recommending additional climate adaptation opportunities.
4. Inspire action: The successful candidate will ensure that the information collected through the project will be communicated in a way that the public can understand and be inspired to take climate action in their own lives. This communication will be shared with the public under the Zoo’s work as an Arctic Ambassador Center.

The successful candidate will also produce materials for, facilitate and participate in the 2023/24 Valley Zoo strategic planning work. Their role will be to ensure the climate adaptation learnings from the work supporting the Zoo’s conservation programs (above) will also inform the updated Master and Action Plans.

Skills & Qualifications

• Minimum of four (4) years of scientific, climate change, biodiversity and/or ecosystems services research and report writing experience;
• Graduate level student/graduate preferred;
• Experience working on and managing projects;
• Knowledge of the principles and practices of biodiversity and natural asset conservation, and/or climate adaptation initiatives;
• Knowledge of applicable Provincial and Federal legislation, regulatory requirements, and climate adaptation programs;
• Excellent written and verbal communication and presentation skills for a broad range of audiences;
• Ability to work independently.

Other Information

• The successful candidate will have the opportunity to:
• Develop their professional aptitudes, especially in the conservation and sustainability-related career fields;
• Apply their technical expertise and research skills to make recommendations on biodiversity conservation initiatives and support municipal sustainability and climate resiliency initiatives;
• Learn more about the role of flora and fauna in climate adaptation initiatives;
• Obtain experience working within a Municipal Government setting;

Application Information

• This position is offered as part of the Adaptation Resilience Training (ART) Program.  To be eligible for the ART positions, applicants must be either:
• A current student, in either an Undergraduate or Graduate program, at an accredited post-secondary institution in Alberta, OR;
• A recent graduate of an accredited post-secondary institution in Alberta (recent defined as since May 1, 2020)
• The candidate will be an employee of the University of Alberta, but will work with and report to the Edmonton Valley Zoo’s Conservation Coordinator
• Note: This position is eligible for co-op. If you are interested in using this position as a co-op work term, please contact your Faculty co-op or Work Experience Office, and also email justis@ualberta.ca to indicate your interest.
• Application Instructions: Apply through campusBRIDGE.
• Find more information on applying through CampusBridge here.