Organizational Mentor: Vanessa Mcdonough [vanessa_mcdonough@nps.gov]

The intern will participate in recreational creel surveys, ideally on a high-use day (Friday, Saturday or Sunday).  Each interview will consist of a series of questions followed by examination of landings to identify and measure each landed fish or crustacean.  As needed, the intern can provide outreach/education if fishing violations have been observed and it is obvious the interviewee is unclear on fishing regulations, but enforcement of regulations is NOT part of this position.  The intern will record data from the interview and take photos to document things as needed (e.g. rare species, unknown fish species etc).  For creel surveys, the intern will initially be trained with a park staff, and moving later into the semester, interviews may be completed individually or with the help of park staff or a park volunteer. Towards the end of the semester, as we move into winter and fishing becomes less popular, the intern can assist Natural Resource management staff with other fisheries-related tasks, including surveying and mapping locations of commercial and recreational traps (lobster, stone crab, blue crab) throughout the park), as well as retrieval of derelict trap gear.  On poor weather days, the intern can help develop social media content pertaining to fishing regulations in the park, which could include photo and video material.

Organizational Mentor: Terrance CribbsLorrant [director@historicalblackprecinct.org]

The City of Miami Black Police Precinct and Courthouse Museum is a non-profit federal designated institution that acquires, preserves, and share historical collections that illuminate the struggles and achievements of Black law enforcement officers and judicial actors, particularly during the pre-Civil Rights era of the 1940s through the 1960s in Miami, Florida and beyond. Through exhibitions of artifacts, memorabilia, oral histories, and interactive media; alongside visual and performing arts, the museum educates the public on Black diaspora experiences within law enforcement and the judicial system. Our work extends beyond Florida, encompassing research, acquisitions, and programming that explore Black policing practices and legal history across the United States, the Caribbean, and the broader African diaspora.

In collaboration with Florida International University’s Tropical River Lab, under the esteemed leadership of Dr. Elizabeth Anderson, the Museum is seeking a dedicated undergraduate student for an intern position with a deep interest in community-based research and oral history collection. This opportunity is ideal for a student or emerging scholar who values the power of storytelling and is eager to engage with historically rich communities through an evidence-based research framework.

The selected intern will contribute to a meaningful project that bridges academic inquiry with lived experience, using established qualitative methods to gather, preserve, and interpret local oral narratives. Findings from this research will be shared in phases through public presentations and curated exhibits, offering the intern valuable experience in both scholarly and community-facing work.

This hybrid position allows for flexible scheduling of up to 10 hours per week, with occasional local travel as needed. The role promises not only professional development but also the chance to amplify underrepresented voices and contribute to a living archive of collective memory.

Organizational Mentor: Steffanie Munguia [steffaniemariem@gmail.com]

Listening to nature: Monitoring wildlife through acoustics

As wildlife populations become increasingly dispersed across fragmented landscapes, researchers are increasingly turning to passive acoustic monitoring methods to detect species, especially those which may be difficult to observe through traditional methods. Zoo Miami has been using acoustic instruments to monitor imperiled species in South Florida. The conservation and research department has been gathering acoustic data all across Miami Dade County to detect bat species, and deepening our understanding of the distribution of the federally endangered Florida bonneted bat (Eumops floridanus). We are seeking an intern who wants to contribute to this work by expanding our acoustic array to new areas, and analyzing this acoustic data. We encourage interns to think creatively about ways to identify new sites, such as collaborating with other members of their cohort. Interns will also have the opportunity to experience other aspects of bat monitoring, including monitoring bat roosts and engaging with community partners. 

Taking flight: Studying bird movements in south Florida (hosted by either the Zoo or Cape Florida Banding Station)

Migration is one of the most grueling and inspiring phases in a bird's life. South Florida is a critical launching off point for many species of migratory birds heading to the Caribbean and beyond for the winter, and these migrations have drawn the attention of researchers and hobbyists alike for years. The Cape Florida Banding Station has been studying fall migration on Key Biscayne for more than 20 years. Zoo Miami is excited to support their work as we strive to expand our avian conservation programs in South Florida. We are seeking an intern that can contribute to all phases of migration study, from data collection to data analysis and publication. They will have an opportunity to participate in fall bird banding efforts at the banding station, as well as potentially deploying an acoustic array to supplement the banding data, or analyzing ongoing Motus data from towers at the zoo and on Key Biscayne tracking passing radio-tagged birds. Interns will also have the opportunity to experience other aspects of bird monitoring, including point counts, analyzing single-species banding data from our new pigeon project, and establishing a new banding station. 

Organizational Mentor: Brian Sidoti [bsidoti@ntbg.org]

The Kampong is a tropical garden where exploration thrives. Once home to botanist David Fairchild, it now welcomes learners of all ages through education programs, art exhibitions, and public events. Located on Biscayne Bay, it features historic crops introduced by Fairchild, native Florida plants, and tropical species from around the world. The Kampong is dedicated to education, plant conservation, and community engagement. Through its collaboration with Florida International University, the International Center for Tropical Botany at The Kampong trains the next generation of tropical botanists. Building on the legacy of Catherine Sweeney, the garden continues to grow as a vibrant hub for learning, conservation, and culture. For projects, we'd like to focus on the conservation of bromeliads.

Organizational Mentor: Ana Rojas [Ana.Rojas@miamidade.gov]

The proposed intern project is based at Deering Estate’s Cultural and Ecological Field Station in Miami-Dade County, a State-owned, County-managed preserve. Deering Estate spans approximately 434 acres of wildland, managed by the Environmentally Endangered Lands Program, and includes pine rockland, hardwood hammock, freshwater wetland, mangrove forest, and saltmarsh habitats adjacent to Biscayne Bay. Phase 1 of the Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands Project at Deering Estate is restoring flowing water habitats and improving conditions for nearshore seagrass beds and estuarine species. About 1.3 miles offshore, Miami-Dade has restored Chicken Key, a sand dune/mangrove island preserve. These ecosystems offer significant potential habitat for our study species the diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin).

Over the last two years, we have documented diamondback terrapin presence and nesting. The project for this intern aims to formalize our research by addressing three key questions:

•Population: What are the current population demographic trends of terrapins around Deering Estate?

•Spatial-temporal movement: How and where are diamondback terrapins moving year-round?

Our research is the only active project on diamondback terrapins within Biscayne Bay and is vital for understanding the species’ ecological role and conservation needs. It will include walking surveys in saltmarsh environment, setting out traps, carefully handling individuals taking morphometric measurements, PIT tagging them and releasing. The project will establish a baseline for future studies and management plans. Monitoring population trends and movements is essential to assess their impact on local habitats and guide conservation efforts.

Organizational Mentor: Barbara Martinez-Guerrero [Barbara@dreamingreen.org]

Dream in Green’s mission is to empower individuals, especially youth, to lead in the response to climate change and other environmental challenges facing South Florida. We assist diverse organizations—including schools, households, local governments, and businesses—in reducing their environmental footprint. Through strong community partnerships, we develop, implement, and manage educational programs and workshops that promote environmentally sustainable behaviors across all age groups, with a special emphasis on K–12 students.

We are seeking passionate and responsible student interns to support a range of activities across community outreach, education, and digital communications. This semester-long internship includes a customizable research component that allows students to design a project aligned with their academic interests and Dream in Green’s mission—such as analyzing environmental education impacts, measuring digital engagement effectiveness, or evaluating water/energy conservation behavior change.

Sample Responsibilities (flexible and tailored to student interests):

• Coordinate and support environmental education workshops through the WE-LAB program and/or Green Schools Challenge Program

• Collect and analyze data from pre/post-workshop surveys to evaluate impact

• Build partnerships with local schools, community centers, and environmental organizations

• Create and implement digital marketing strategies to increase engagement and awareness

• Develop content for social media, newsletters, videos, and infographics

• Maintain and update DIG’s Recyclepedia recycling website and mobile application

• Represent DIG at public events, presentations, and outreach activities (some evenings/weekends)

• Assist with general administrative and communications tasks as needed

Research Component:

Interns will propose and complete a small research project related to DIG’s mission and programs, with guidance from staff. Possible areas of focus include:

• Effectiveness of environmental education on student behavior (analyzing teacher/student surveys)

• Impact of digital campaigns on community awareness and engagement

• Collection of "best practices" and new regulatory policies to help protect communities from climate change effects

Organizational Mentor: Joanna Tucker Lima [joannat@montgomerybotanical.org]

Montgomery Botanical Center (MBC) is a non-profit botanical research garden established in 1959 and located in Coral Gables, Florida (Miami-Dade County). Montgomery’s mission is to advance research, conservation, and education through living plant collections.  Focused on palms and cycads, the garden’s population-based, documented, scientific collections are mainly derived from wild-collected specimens and provide myriad opportunities for research and investigation. Currently, our collections include 469 palm species and 271 cycad species, as well as 109 tropical conifer species. Internship projects at MBC explore questions related to botany, ecology, conservation, biodiversity, and even climate change. Potential project ideas include studies related to reproductive biology (e.g., pollination ecology, phenology, seed viability, thermogenesis, and parthenocarpy); horticulture/nursery studies (e.g., fertilization, irrigation, IPM, soil media, seed viability and germination), geographic information systems (species distributions and comparison of populations from different regions); and the chemical ecology of palm flowers (e.g., scent volatiles and floral pigments). We welcome novel research ideas that advance botanical knowledge of palms and cycads through the use of our diverse living collections.