Maine-Based Fellowships

Kappa Psi Upsilon Maine-based Environmental Fellows work for a Maine organization to address environmental issues while strengthening campus-community partnerships.

Overview:

This fellowship provides students with the opportunity to explore the environmental field by working directly with a Maine-based organization or nonprofit. The fellowship pays $6,000 for 10 weeks, with an additional $1,000 expenses supplement for students on aid. Fellows are eligible for on campus housing at a cost of approximately $80 per week. Most fellows in the past have opted to stay in campus housing.

Eligibility:

Current first-years, sophomores, and juniors; preference given to prospective ES majors and current ES majors who have completed two or more ES core courses (ENVS1101, ENVS2201, ENVS2403, or ENVS 2330). Graduating seniors are not eligible.

Application Process.

Students apply for funding to work with a midcoast Maine-based organization or community. The application should aaddress the following: (1) a description of the experience you hope to gain in the environmental field through the fellowship; (2) possible community organizations you hope to work for in the fellowship placement. Please note that the projects described below are indicative of the types available for each organization. Also please note that some of the fellowship placements may require the use of a vehicle.

Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025 at noon

Application:

All applications must be submitted through our online application (coming soon).

Application Requirements:

Please use the application. We have provided a copy of lthe application as a PDF for informational purposes only. You will be asked to fill out the online application and upload the following documents:

A fellowship proposal that addresses the following: (1) a description of the experience you hope to gain in the environmental field through the fellowship; (2) possible community organizations you hope to work for in the fellowship placement.
A current résumé that includes the name of two references, one of whom should be a faculty member

Tips on preparing a good application:

As you prepare your personal statement, it can be helpful to explore the type(s) of organizations you would like to work for, the best strategy to find out as much about the organization is the following:

Explore the organization's website to find out about past, current and planned initiatives. Read about staff and check out any social media that the organization puts out. Organizations that have hosted a student in the past are listed below You do not need to limit yourself to the organizations on the list.
Reach out to a former fellows who have worked for the organization to learn more about their experience. If you are hoping to work for an organization where we have not placed a fellow, we encourage you to reach out to talk with an organization who worked for a similar organization (land trust, municipal planning department).

Potential Host Organizations

To facilitate the application process, we will be updating a list of organizations interested in hosting a student this summer between now and mid-January, so please keep checking back. In their application, students can also identify potential organizations they may wish to work for that are not listed below.

If you are a Maine based organization and interested in hosting a summer fellow this summer, we'd love to hear from you. Please fill out this survey to provide us with information we can share on our website. For more information, contact Rosie Armstrong rarmstro@bowdoin.edu.

(CEI) *the information below will be updated soon

Now more than ever, you can help build a strong and inclusive economy by being a part of a team that is expanding small businesses opportunities in Maine.

We know you are already passionate about environmental studies; but if you would like to learn a little more about how many of the challenges we are trying to solve intersect with the Policy and Resource Development space, then we cannot wait to meet you.

The Policy and Resource Advocacy Team is looking to work with an Environmental Studies Fellow who can add capacity to their team in many areas such as agriculture and food systems, aquaculture and fisheries, renewable energy and climate, among other critical topics in our field of work!

Policy research on topical areas related to CEI’s work, as needed, including but not limited to broadband, consumer protection, entrepreneurship, agriculture and food systems, aquaculture and fisheries, renewable energy (i.e., solar, wind and other emergent technologies), climate, workforce (specifically second chance populations) and health/childcare policy. 5) Generally adding capacity to our team by providing support with meeting attendance/facilitation, notetaking, organizing and updating files, contact lists, and other documents and tools.
Developmental work with the Maine food policy work group, which CEI is helping to organize.
Support our Justice Fellow with a project that involves conversations with Maine based and national community development financial institution partners to assess the benefits and challenges in organizing a statewide coalition to support and expand the impact of community development financial institutions.
Work on the state of the state report: a compendium of the results of CEI’s state policy work during the 131^st Legislature (2023-2024)

Throughout the summer, you will be a part of our summer intern’s and fellow cohort, participating in group activities, engaging in staff meetings, day of service, staff outing, Maine Career Catalyst events, job shadowing, and career readiness coaching. You will learn about other departments at CEI, explore the industry of Community Development Financial Institutions.

Who we are:

Headquartered in Maine, CEI is a community development finance institution that is a national leader in rural economic and business development. CEI's mission is to build a just, vibrant, and climate-resilient future for people and communities in Maine and rural communities. We do this by integrating finance, business expertise, and policy solutions in ways that make the economy work more equitably.  

Over 70 percent of our financing and advice go to businesses that are expanding opportunities for low-income communities, communities of color, and others who have been left behind by our economy. Learn more about working at CEI   

What we believe:

Stewardship: As careful, responsible managers of the resources entrusted to us, we recognize that our decisions and actions have near – and long-term impacts for people and the planet  

Equity: We work to ensure that all people, especially those facing individual or systems barriers to opportunity, can secure a livelihood that enables them to build assets and share prosperity.  

Diversity: We engage diverse staff, board members, and partners who bring lived experience, community connections, and know-how to the problems we aim to solve.   

Innovation: We foster creativity and entrepreneurial spirit at CEI, through our networks, and in the communities we serve.  

Collaboration: We share knowledge, practices, and resources, and partner with people and organizations to deepen our mission impact.  

Who we are seeking:

If you have some of these skills or experience, please don’t hesitate to apply!

The ideal candidate will possess a combination of academic, analytic, and interpersonal skills; a strong interest in public policy, economics, or related areas; interest in CEI’s focus sectors and/or programmatic areas; and alignment with CEI’s mission.

You are an efficient communicator – both verbal and written.
You have curiosity about public policy and bring sound critical thinking skills.
You are a team player who can work and collaborate with others and how is open to guidance.
You bring diverse talents that will add great value to our team!

To explore a fellowship with this organization, contact:
Donna LeBlanc
Email: diana.leblanc@cei.maine.org

The Summer Internship with the Town of Gorham is designed to give interns a look at municipal and local government culture and exposure into one of the several departments and career opportunities through project-based assignments, networking, volunteer opportunities and formal mentorship. Responsibilities will vary based on the department the intern is assigned to and will leverage the interns unique skills and abilities.

Each year the Community Development Department and the Public Works Departments undertake several Environmental, Economic, and Open Space and Recreational Planning projects, which may take multiple forms depending on the projects for that year.

Environmental Planning and Compliance - Each year, Public Works and the Stormwater Compliance Officer inspect stormwater infrastructure throughout Gorham and collect data to be sent to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. This data also helps the Town Staff plan for future improvement and maintenance projects. The intern would be provided with a tablet or mobile device with a map of all of Gorham's 132 outfalls.

The intern’s task would be inspecting a percentage of Gorham's Outfalls. The types of outfalls, locations, and inspection process varies by year, but the intern would be spending more time performing a more in-depth analysis of the outfall and surrounding area to assess watershed health.

The data collection and reporting process has typically been budgeted for 24 working hours to complete the mandatory work, but more could be scheduled if this is accomplished. This internship would be entirely field-based and is therefore weather dependent. If potential interns have any questions, please reach out to Gorham's Stormwater Compliance Officer Megan Fountaine () or the Public Works Department.

Economic, and Open Space and Recreational Planning – Each year, the Planning and Economic Development Divisions undertake specific projects. This year the divisions are working on two planning efforts. They are an Economic Development Plan and an Open Space Plan.

We anticipate needing assistance with our public meetings, which may include assistance with social media. In addition, we are working on implementing online code and permitting programs for which quality control assistance is needed. Other tasks that could be accomplished as time permits are assistance with Thursday Food Truck nights, an inventory and update on village sidewalk maintenance and “gap filling,” as well as where connections could be made to existing trails.

Historic Preservation Planning – Copy and save to server all Historic Preservation Survey cards; Map all historic resources; Add to, update & revise a Historic District Story Map Parks and Recreation Planning – Complete Parks and Recreation Facilities inventory and planning guide.

Approximate fellowship duration: 8 weeks

To explore a fellowship with this organization, contact:
Megan Fountaine, via the line above, or

Rosemary Armstrong, ��߲��о�� Environmental Studies Program
Email: rarmstro@bowdoin.edu

Manomet is an organization that uses science and collaboration to improve the health of flyways, coastal ecosystems and working lands and seas.

Manomet’s fisheries team is based out of Brunswick, Maine, with work focused in the Gulf of Maine to build resilient and productive coastal ecosystems and communities by diversifying opportunities in fishing and aquaculture. Most projects include close partnerships with local harvesters, fishers, aquaculture farmers and other community stakeholders. 

Our summer internship opportunity in 2025 will have two main areas of focus. First, it will offer an immersive experience in intertidal and coastal fieldwork, and associated data entry, management, and basic analysis techniques. Projects that potential interns would be working on include long-term green crab monitoring, eel grass and oyster reef restoration, blue crab mark recapture studies, river herring monitoring, and environmental data collection.

Second, the intern will assist with efforts to convene stakeholders, interface with fisheries management bodies, conduct outreach and education related to Fisheries initiatives, and promote the equitable and inclusive advancement of aquaculture in Maine.

These projects may include literature reviews, regulatory and legislative analyses, GIS analysis or development of simple data collection tools, support writing reports and guidance documents, and outreach/collaboration with harvesters, municipal staff, land trusts, and other partners.  

Students interested in this opportunity should be comfortable working outside in variable conditions and have the flexibility to conduct fieldwork around the tidal schedule, not a normal 8hr workday. Comfort around the water and shoreline is essential and some work may be physically demanding.

Successful candidates will be highly motivated and able to work both independently and in a team. Past experience in marine science would be beneficial, but is not required. Having a car would be necessary for this summer internship.

(Note: In addition to summer internships, various projects are often available for students to take on as a remote, independent study or short-term project during the school year.)

To explore a fellowship with this organization, contact:
Marissa McMahan
Email: mmcmahan@manomet.org

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Environmental Studies

Maine-Based Fellowships

Application Requirements:

Bath Sustainability Office (Bath)

Bicycle Coalition of Maine (Portland, public transportation is available)

Brunswick Planning and Development

Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust (Brunswick/ Topsham)

Coastal Enterprises Inc. (CEI) (Brunswick)

Town of Gorham Planning Division

Growing to Give (Brunswick)

Kennebec Estuary Land Trust (KELT) (Bath)

Maine Coast Fishermen's Association (Brunswick)

Maine Conservation Voters (Augusta)

Manomet for Conservation Science

Natural Resources Council of Maine (Augusta)

The Nature Conservancy of Maine (Brunswick)

Town of Topsham Planning and Development (Topsham)

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