Iowa Monarch Crew Member/Leader

Location: Des Moines, IA
    This is not a residential program; participants must secure housing preferably near the crew location
Service Term:  900-hour AmeriCorps position; May – December, 2024

A crew of five AmeriCorps members participate in on-the-job training to learn natural resources management skills and put those skills into practice studying monarch butterfly breeding habitat. The crew member position involves physically challenging, team-oriented AmeriCorps service. Habitat projects may include but are not limited to pollinator counts, milkweed stem counts, and maintaining and organization field data. Project sites vary throughout Iowa, including urban settings and wilderness. Service is performed exclusively outdoors and may involve camping for several days at a time.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Complete habitat and natural resources service projects in cooperation with fellow members safely, effectively and efficiently and to the satisfaction and specifications of the project host
• Abide by Corps program safety regulations as well as applicable federal/state/municipal law and OSHA requirements; communicate any safety concerns and incidents
• Contribute actively to the team to complete projects, demonstrating a commitment to the Corps values of safety, service, respect, equity and community, as well as justice, diversity, and inclusion.
• Positive attitude, desire to learn new skills, interest in community service; represent Conservation Corps in positive manner in public
• Serve a minimum of 450 or 900 hours (depending on service term) and complete the entire service term per the start and end dates listed on the Member Service Agreement
• Complete and approve timecards and other required reports and paperwork in timely manner

Qualifications

• 18-35 years old
• Ability and desire to work well with others in a team setting, outdoors and in all weather conditions
• Commitment to upholding Corps values of safety, service, respect, equity, and community
• Dedication to complete the full term of AmeriCorps service
• Relevant experience in fields of botany, wildlife, or another related field; experience identifying native prairie forbs in the Midwest
• Excellent verbal communication skills, attention to detail, ability to enter data accurately onto a mobile device and computer
• Ability to perform the Essential Service Functions, which include but are not limited to:
  • Long (10 hour) days of shoveling, digging, and swinging heavy tools repetitively
  • Long (10 hour) days of chainsawing / brush sawing
  • Long (10 hour) days collecting habitat data
  • Heavy lifting, bending, and carrying up to 50 pounds
  • Walking and working on steep or uneven terrain
  • Working in extremes of heat or cold, in direct sunlight, high temperatures and buggy conditions
• Flexible schedule to accommodate week-long out of town assignments and emergency response
• Must be a US Citizen, US National, or Lawful Permanent Resident Alien of the US
• High school degree, GED, or willingness to work towards obtaining a GED
• Preferred: Experience identifying insects and their larval instars; knowledge of North American milkweed species (ability to recognize common and uncommon species in the field)

Benefits:

• Living Allowance: $2,200/month 
• Education Award: $3,447.50, if eligible and upon successful completion of program
• Student loan forbearance (on qualifying student loans)
• Health insurance
• Childcare assistance
• Training, certifications, networking