The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is seeking a college student to help the Urban Forestry’s division to collect updated information on recently planted SDOT and privately maintained street trees, and report on their rate of survival.  The intern will be tasked to provide analysis of tree establishment program success.

SDOT’s Urban Forestry mission is to provide integrated maintenance, emergency response, and stewardship of the engineered and natural systems within the right-of-way, to promote a safe, vibrant and interconnected city.  The intern will be given a hands-on orientation for street tree data collection using a proprietary ArcGIS collector application.  iPads will be supplied for data collection, and a text chain will be set up with on staff arborists to allow interns to check tree species and location by checking in with staff. We will also provide training to assist in ArcGIS identification of tree locations.

Educational Benefit to Student:
The position will help the student understand how their coursework translates into the daily operations of a city’s urban forestry division, in particular, the collection of data and entry into the tree inventory, and analysis of data to determine how well the current tree establishment program is succeeding in preventing tree mortality.

75%  Field data collection;
20%  Data verification, analysis and reporting; and
5%   File/Data management

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
Education
Open to all undergraduate students enrolled in an accredited 2-year or 4-year educational program and graduate students, who are enrolled in an accredited educational program.

Preferred Areas of Study:   Forestry, Urban Forestry, Landscape Architecture, Arboriculture, Horticulture, Natural Resource Management.

Undergraduate students will need to maintain a 2.0 GPA or above throughout the internship.
Graduate students will need to maintain a 3.0 GPA or above throughout the internship.

EXPERIENCE
 Required:

• Experience in or knowledge related to tree identification
• General knowledge of ArcGIS products
• Data management and organizational skills
• Ability to work independently
• Ability to perform ad-hoc research using the internet

Desired Qualifications:

• Project management experience
• Familiarity with tree inventory applications
• Familiarity with Seattle’s neighborhoods will be helpful

Start/End Dates:   Early July 2021 to September 15, 2021

 Schedule:  Intern will work 20 hours/weeks while school is in session.  30-40 hours/week during school breaks.  Work hours can be scheduled between 8:00 am and 4:00 pm.

 Salary:  Undergraduate students will be paid $18.26/hour. Graduate students will be paid $22.50/hour.

 How to Apply:  complete an online application and include the following:

• Unofficial transcript including current classes and GPA
• Cover letter
• Resume

 Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Note:  The City has the expectation that interns will be readily available to report to onsite work in Seattle when operational needs require.