Tropical Botany Technician Internship - Eco-Travel and Environmental Education Specialists T.R.E.E.S Belize

Looking to broaden your plant identification skills and gain experience with topical botanical families and field studies? Want to learn ethnobotanical uses of plants from a variety of ethnic backgrounds? Want to live immersed in the tropical rainforest of Belize? If so, then this is the internship for you!

The goal of this internship is to give the student various experiences in tropical botanical studies that will aid the student in developing their skills for a variety of future education and employment opportunities. The main component of the project will be to work with the T.R.E.E.S staff and Ecorana biologists in establishing a long-term plant monitoring project that is part of a bigger project looking into insect abundance and timing of plant flowering and seed production in the Maya Mountains of Belize and how this affects wildlife (especially avian) abundance, breeding, moulting, and movement.

We are looking for interns who are independent yet willing to work in a team environment. Applicants should have a certain level of botanical identification skills and should be interested in improving their techniques for proper plant identification in the tropics and learning about the incredible biodiversity of Belize through systematic field surveys and data collection.

Tasks

• Identify plants (trees, shrubs, and other groups) found at the T.R.E.E.S Hosting Center and in the Maya Mountains in Belize.

• Continue an ongoing medicinal trail (create and install wooden signs, trail maintenance, adding new medicinal plant species,

• Gain experience in collaborating with local researchers and botanical institutions to obtain keys to allow the identification of plants in Belize.

• Contribute findings with the National Herbarium of Belize.

• Continue and maintain a small plant collection from dried specimens using plant presses.

• Learn and become proficient in a variety of plant sampling techniques, including how to conduct: quadrat plots, transects, habitat characterization and vegetation mapping, etc.

• Gain an understanding of the timing of reproduction for these plants (flowering time, seed production etc.) to be included in a flowering plant database.

• Add plant I.D. tags and signs to trees and plants that will be used to create an educational trail at the station.

• Work with locals and learn and document local knowledge of plants found.

• Work with Ecorana researchers, T.R.E.E.S staff, and other interns on the development of scientific protocol design.

• Understand and follow all safety regulations and priorities while working in the field and office.

• Learn to enter data in a systematic manner and compile it into a scientific report with introduction and literature review, methods, results (including basic statistical analysis), and discussion using peer-reviewed scientific articles.

• Depending on involvement in project, may have opportunity to collaborate on future publications.

• Complete a short 4-5 page summary report that will help to establish future research protocols.

• Use of ArcGiS and GPS an asset to add to the existing map of the T.R.E.E.S trails and botanical features of note.

Desired qualifications, physical requirements and work conditions, benefits, terms, fees, and application instructions can all be found here

Fees

Ecorana fees for internships for international students are $289 USD/week. This includes lodging and use of all facilities at the T.R.E.E.S Hosting Center, training on methodologies by Ecorana biologists and local T.R.E.E.S professionals in their field of study, as well as mentorship from Ecorana tutors for the duration of the intended internship. International students must have international travel medical insurance during their stay in Belize. At the discretion of the T.R.E.E.S managers, local Belizean students (especially those not staying on site) can have fees reduced or exchanged for work. All interns (international and local) are required to pay for transportation to/from the site and their food while on site (cooking facilities provided).

To Apply:

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