Sustainability at the University of Maryland

Sustainability Internships, Volunteer Opportunities and More!

The green industry is one of the fastest growing sectors of the US economy with many exciting career opportunities for college graduates. Get your foot in the "green jobs" door by working on sustainability initiatives at the University of Maryland, which is recognized as a national leader in campus sustainability.

Summer Production & Development Internship

Potomac Riverkeeper seeks a highly organized and effective Production & Development Intern who is able to assist in fundraising activities including event planning and campaign research. This position reports to the Development Associate.

Responsibilities may include:

  • Assist with the production of materials for events and campaigns.
  • Help maintain membership database and assist in communication mailings.
  • Represent Potomac Riverkeeper and recruit new members/volunteers at community meetings, festivals, and other events.
  • Maintain strong records of work and assist with database development.
  • Research prospective corporate sponsors and partners.
  • Hold regular office hours and participate in weekly meetings with development staff.
  • Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

  • Current student status; nonprofit work experience preferred; a demonstrated interest/experience with environmental work preferred.
  • Strong written and verbal communications skills.
  • Ability to work well in a team.
  • Occasional weekend and evening hours.

Salary: This is an UNPAID internship

Start Date: May/June 2011

To apply: Please send cover letter and resume to jobs@potomacriverkeeper.org, or Potomac Riverkeeper, 1100 15th Street, NW, 11th Floor, Washington, DC 20005

BCLC Summer Research Internship

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Business Civic Leadership Center is looking for an undergraduate summer intern to help create a new database of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects.  This database will be the most comprehensive picture of the work that businesses are doing to improve their world. 

The intern will work full-time (40 hours/week) coding published reports, company websites, and news releases to identify CSR projects.  There will be a weekly one-hour meeting with BCLC Research Manager Jeff Lundy to discuss findings.  The intern will be responsible for assisting methodology development by reporting their hands-on experience coding the data.  The intern will also spend some time each week writing up their experiences, making notes of complicated cases, and otherwise building a knowledge base about their experiences with coding. 

PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR RESUME AND COVER LETTER TO:
Jeff Lundy, Research Manager, jlundy@uschamber.com, BY 05/18/2012

 

Volunteer Opportunities

EPA OnCampus ecoAmbassadors

Are you interested in the environment? Do you want to get more involved with the EPA and sustainability efforts on your campus? Be an EPA OnCampus ecoAmbassador!

Students can choose from a variety of events and projects, all of which are based on projects from EPA program offices and utilize EPA resources to help students plan their environmental activities. Past ecoAmbassadors have improved recycling efforts, organized Earth Day celebrations, initiated composting programs and certified campus buildings as Energy Star compliant. To get involved, students select an activity and a professor or administrator as their school sponsor, register their project or activity online, then organize their event and report their results.

In particular, students benefit by greening their campuses and developing valuable leadership and project management skills. The most active ecoAmbassadors will have the opportunity to interact with EPA employees at the Regional offices, Headquarters, and lab facilities.

Registration begins on September 1st and any individual or student organization can participate. Students must register their events on our website.

 

Workshops

UIC Summer Institute on Sustainability and Energy

A nine-day immersion in sustainable energy issues framed by the 2012 United States presidential election and U.S. relations with the international community. The Summer Institute will educate future decision makers on energy and sustainability through interdisciplinary lectures dealing with "big picture" issues presented at an accessible level. Graduates of the Institute will achieve an overview of the technical challenges and potential solutions, the economic and social barriers to implementation, the policy and planning needed to implement sustainable energy and the entrepreneurship that will deliver innovative energy technologies.

 

Competitions

Odebrecht Award for Sustainable Development

Engage in a challenging exercise to develop solutions that promote progress by writing and submitting a paper on contributions to sustainability. We believe that engineering is a powerful force for positive change; therefore we intend to use winning entries as a platform to implement sustainable business practices. Entries should explore innovative methods and ideas that can be implemented on a variety of real-world ventures. Click here for more.

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