Seeking RainWise Intern
INTERN JOB DESCRIPTION:
Community Outreach Intern for RainWise Program
Part-time Internship, Summer 2019
For Sustainable Ballard and the RainWise Program
Who we are: Sustainable Ballard is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 2004, that educates, inspires, and engages neighbors to take action to live more sustainably both individually and collectively. Our RainWise Outreach Team works to connect eligible Seattle property owners with the RainWise Rebate Program for rain gardens and cisterns, to help manage Seattle’s stormwater overflow problem. RainWise is a program of Seattle Public Utilities and King County’s Waste Management Division.
About the Internship: This internship is an opportunity to be a part of the successful outreach team for the RainWise Program in Seattle. The RainWise Program is a joint effort between King County and Seattle Public Utilities to encourage Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) at private properties through a rebate program. This position will assist in implementing engaging ways to reach out to potential RainWise customers (residents) in the Green Lake, University, Montlake and Capitol Hill neighborhoods of Seattle and encourage people to participate in the RainWise rebate program. You’ll play a key role in an innovative stormwater management program and gain valuable work experience in community outreach, environmental education, tracking and analyzing data, and more.
Objectives:
- Student will work with the public and with a diverse outreach team to accomplish important clean water goals for King County and City of Seattle.
- Student will gain experience working with a small nonprofit that’s hired to work closely with King County government staff.
- Student will collect and analyze data from door-to-door canvassing efforts to understand effectiveness in strategy.
- Student will develop a database and write a summary report after following up with existing RainWise clients on their installation.
- Student will have the chance to network within the environmental fields of Planning, Design, Construction, Outreach, and project coordination.
- Student will learn the challenges of Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) in Seattle and the engineering function of rain gardens and cisterns on private property.
- Learn from an experienced team about community engagement, sustainability, rain gardens, cisterns, and stormwater management
Approach:
Door-to-Door Outreach & Analysis
- Canvas door-to-door on foot (select evenings and weekends in Jul/Aug).
- Contact and educate potential eligible homeowners about program and upcoming events.
- Distribute informational packets from door-to-door.
- Log and analyze information collected.
- Co-write report on trends found when door-to-door canvassing.
Maintenance Check-ins
- Educate RainWise customers about maintenance of their cistern and/or rain garden.
- Record impressions of maintenance check-ins.
- Co-write summary report on maintenance findings.
Event & Admin Support
- Attend outreach events (select evenings and weekends in Jun/Jul/Aug).
- Provide support for event prep, setup and cleanup.
- Assist with follow-up to potential RainWise customers.
- Input event data into shared databases.
- Possible opportunity to analyze data.
Skills and Experience:
Student will develop skills in:
- Customer engagement and outreach
- Event support
- Data Analysis (basic)
- Database management
- Report writing
- Environmental education
Expectations:
- Interest in environmental outreach
- Flexibility to fulfill your internship requirements over approximately 8-10 weeks this summer, June – Aug
- Ability to work independently and on a team with a positive attitude and strong work ethic.
- Familiarity with spreadsheets and data management
Learn more about Sustainable Ballard and RainWise:
sustainableballard.org / rainwise.seattle.gov
To apply:
Please send resume and cover letter to Jenny Heins, jenny@sustainableballard.org