Participate
Environmental Resources Center
Get involved.
From attending events to volunteering to landing a student internship, there are lots of ways you can get involved with the Environmental Resources Center. Check out the current opportunities available and come back often, as we’re always adding more.
Internships
See what’s available.
Whenever we come across a promising internship, we’ll post it here.
We often have internship opportunities for motivated students at the ERC. Interns will report to the center’s administration. These positions are open to any currently enrolled Purdue Fort Wayne student. Applicants’ areas of study need not be environmentally focused—we are less concerned about majors than interest in sustainability and desire to contribute. Current opportunities include the following:
- The prestigious project-based Waterfield Sustainability Internship
- Various other center internships
Projects
Activities and projects might be in the following areas:
- Social media and website development
- Education and outreach
- Grant writing
- Sustainable landscape development and implementation
- Waste management: reduce, reuse, recycle
- Event planning
- Art and graphic design
Qualifications
Required
- A minimum GPA of 2.5
- Enthusiasm for environmental sustainability
- Strong desire to learn
- Positive, self-motivated, organized, creative, and strong communication skills
- Organized and efficient worker; ability to keep track of multiple tasks
Desired
- Interdisciplinary education and/or training in any specific sustainability subject
Expectations
Successful applicants will join the staff of the center to work on expanding our activities. Tasks will be arrived upon in consultation with the intern. The timeline of the internship will depend on the nature of the project.
Benefits of the Experience
Interns will be working in a fun and exciting environment, gain valuable experience working in a growing organization, and contribute to an expanding culture of sustainability on campus and in the community. Opportunities for remote work are available.
Project Example Descriptions
Social Media and Website Development
- Keep the center’s website up-to-date
- Create content for the center’s Instagram and Facebook pages on a weekly basis
- Contribute supplementary stories to monthly news brief
Education and Outreach
- Design programming for on- and off-campus events, including tabling, presentations, and workshops
- Develop tangible educational materials (pamphlets, activity booklets, etc.)
- Explore successful and environmentally focused education programs in the community
Sustainable Landscape Development and Implementation
- Assist with one or more phases of the center’s landscape design implementation
- Take part in the application of designs (gardening, invasive removal, etc.)
Waste Management: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
- Develop waste diversion plan for the center
- Maintain the center’s compost
- Construct vermicompost system
- Find ways to improve campus waste streams
Event Planning
- Help prepare for our largest annual event: Conservation Conversation
- Assist with outreach events
- Earth Day and Arbor Day organization
- World Wetland Day participation
Art and Graphic Design
- Update web content, outreach materials, and marketing materials
- Develop the center’s aesthetic and quality of place
- Video production and implementation
Other
- If there is a relevant project that an applicant is passionate about and willing to take the lead on, their proposal will be considered. The project must have a soft timeline and defined plan, with tangible results at the start of the internship. The project must be relevant to the center’s mission and vision.
Volunteer
We’d love your help.
Do you like what we are doing? If you would like to get involved with promoting environmental stewardship in our area, let us know and we will try to line you up with an activity that appeals to you. The following are some examples of recent volunteer work.
Help a graduate student with fieldwork. In the past, needs have included assisting graduate students with projects on Blanding’s and spotted turtles and Kirtland’s snakes and their presence in Indiana. Reach out to learn how you can be involved this season.
Assist with reporting. Have an environmental area of interest? Want to write about it? Contact the director about all the possibilities.
Web design. We would like to expand our environmental content on the web. Maybe you can help with elements of our outreach efforts.
Of course, if you have particular talents, perhaps you know how you can best assist our growth. If you are interested, please contact the director.
News Brief
Don’t miss any updates.
Subscribe to our news brief. We use this list to provide updates about our activities, periodic newsletters, upcoming events, environmentally related activities of others that we think might be of interest to you, and opportunities to contribute. Our subscription list will not be shared outside of the center.
Visitor Info
Finding the center.
If you’ve never been to campus before, it can be a bit confusing. Don’t worry. We’re here to help. Check out the following info regarding how to get here and where to park.
The easiest way to get to the center and adjacent structures, such as the Science Building, is via the North Anthony Boulevard campus entrance off East Coliseum Boulevard. This is at the southwest corner of campus, just east of the bridge over the St. Joseph River.
You must immediately travel right and then counterclockwise in front of Kettler Hall (the first building) before returning to West Campus Drive (extension of North Anthony Boulevard), where they should turn right to continue north, parallel to the river. Following the signs for “Env Resources Center.” (The Science Building is the next building on the right—it has an attached greenhouse.) The Environment Resources Center is the building just north of the Science Building, at the turn in the road, tucked back by the river and pictured below.
There are a few visitor parking spots right at the Environmental Resources Center—one handicapped space and three spots for visitors. If those are full, consider the large lot (P11), south along West Campus Drive, next to the St. Joseph River. The white-lined parking spaces are free to the public to use all the time. The spots closer to the center marked with green lines are reserved for faculty during normal business hours. However, government vehicles can park in those spots at all times, and are free and open to the public on weekdays after 5 p.m. and on weekends. This works nicely, as most of our public events are during those off-hours.
Visiting the center during normal business hours of the work week and all the visitor spots happen to be taken? Stop in our building first and pick up a free temporary guest parking pass. Staff need only your name, and you will be given a guest permit to hang from your rearview mirror during your visit. With this permit, you can park anywhere (green lines included).
Contact Us
Questions?
Contact Bruce Kingsbury, director and professor of biology, at [email protected].