Thriving Agricultural Systems in Urbanized Landscapes Internship

Summer 2022 Hughes Center Internship Opportunity The Harry R. Hughes Center for Agro-Ecology, Inc. (Hughes Center) is seeking undergraduate student applicants interested in working as an intern on a project that will require extensive research related to agriculture, urbanization, land use, food systems, and policies in Maryland over a twenty-year period. This internship is part of a five-year $9 million project, “Thriving Agricultural Systems in Urbanized Landscapes” funded by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA.) This position is supported by Sustainable Agricultural Systems grant no. 2019-68012-29904/project accession no. 1019799 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. You will be the sole intern at the Hughes Center for this nine-week internship, but you will work closely with interns at Penn State and Virginia Tech. This experience will provide you the opportunity to interact closely with leaders from the agricultural and environmental communities as well as state and federal agencies. The internship will familiarize you with the complexities of the issues surrounding natural resource issues, including nutrient management for the Chesapeake Bay, local food production, and land use. During the course of the internship, you will work closely with interns at Penn State and Virginia Tech who will be gathering similar data to provide baseline information for Pennsylvania and Virginia for use by the research team. Information garnered by the three interns will provide the baseline for the next stage of the multi-year project. The intern will: Collect current data and projections for the next 20-30 years of Maryland’s population, urbanization, climate, agricultural production, infectious livestock diseases, especially avian flu and African swine fever, land use, food systems, and food consumption; Compile information on state and local government policies in Maryland related to these issues; Participate in three in-person meetings with the other two interns and mentors (meetings will occur at the three institutions); Engage with the other interns and Hughes Center staff on a weekly basis to report status of the work; Work independently and engage with a broad range of sources to obtain the necessary data and information; Meet periodically with members of the NIFA project team to update the team on your progress; and Prepare a report and present your findings to the project team. The intern must: Be a licensed driver with their own reliable transportation; Be willing to attend all three in-person meetings. Candidates should have relevant coursework; have excellent writing and communication skills; proficiency in a variety of data management and analytical systems, specifically Excel; have the ability to work from home; and be willing to conduct occasional travel. Compensation: The intern will be paid $15.00 an hour for a 40-hour workweek. The internship will commence in June 2022 and conclude by mid-August 2022. To apply: Send your resume, cover letter and at least one academic and professional letter of recommendation and reference to Nancy Nunn at: nnunn@umd.edu. Deadline to Apply: April 20, 2022