[PCA] JOB: Restoration Education Coordinator (Newport Beach, CA)

Plant Conservation plant at plantconservation.org
Mon Sep 27 08:26:37 CDT 2004


JOB ANNOUNCEMENT
Upper Newport Bay Restoration Education Coordinator

An exceptional position in the emerging field of ecological
restoration

Help manage and guide an established program of
volunteers and school groups who will be
providing long-term ecological stewardship within
Upper Newport Bay in Newport Beach, Orange County.

Background - The California Coastal Commission's
Public Education Program, in partnership with the
nonprofit Tides Center, manages a marine
education and restoration project in Orange
County. This project grew out of the Commission's
successful education and public involvement
programs, through which we provide curriculum
materials, beach field trips, and other resources
to educators in California and engage the public
in beach cleanups. The Commission has expanded
its educational and public involvement emphasis
to encompass habitat restoration. The Upper
Newport Bay Restoration and Education Program
serves as a pilot project for the Commission for
developing coastal restoration and education
projects throughout California.

The project has recently completed a curriculum
to teach participating school groups about the
importance of coastal habitat and the impacts of
human activities on that habitat. Hands-on
restoration work is included within the lesson
plans of the curriculum, to reinforce the
classroom instruction with experiential learning.
The restoration program proceeds independently of
the curriculum, serving the vital purpose of
restoring the salt marsh ecology and critical
species habitat of the Upper Newport Bay through
the work of community volunteers. To date, the
Restoration Program has held monthly community
events at several work sites in Upper Newport
Bay, and has restored 8.9 acres of salt marsh,
riparian, and upland sage scrub habitat. In
addition, weekly steward days, in which
volunteers work in the native plant nursery
established by the Program, take place every
Wednesday.

The Position -- This is a full-time position with
some weekend work required.. As an employee of
the Tides Center, the Restoration Coordinator is
responsible for organizing and running all
aspects of the Coastal Commission's Upper Newport
Bay Restoration Education Program. In addition to
supporting volunteer efforts, the Restoration
Coordinator will provide guidance and expertise
in the area of ecological restoration to ensure
that the field work, planning, and data
collection (monitoring, etc.) is of the highest
possible quality. One primary component of this
position is teaching interns and volunteers the
technical aspects of restoration through
trainings and other means. Specific
responsibilities for the position include, but
are not limited to, the following:


 Organizing and leading regular restoration programs (work days).

 Providing supervision, professional guidance,
and training to interns, volunteers, and
contractors.

 Developing and maintaining monitoring programs
and related databases with volunteer support.

 Developing and implementing volunteer training programs.

 Regular review and updating (with volunteer
input) of restoration strategies and
implementation plans for each of the stewardship
sites.

 Outreach to community groups, schools, service
organizations, etc. to solicit volunteer
participation in the restoration program.

 Marketing and distributing the new restoration
curriculum, Our Wetlands, Our World.

 Presentations to both classrooms and teachers
based on the restoration curriculum.

 General administrative and program maintenance activities.

 Administration of special projects and research activities.

Qualifications -- This position requires unique
experience and abilities, including:


 Two or more years of hands-on experience in
managing staff or volunteers (or working as a
volunteer) in a program with similar components.

 A college degree or comparable field experience
in ecological restoration or a closely related
field (i.e. botany, ecology, resource management).

 Knowledge of, or experience in, habitat
inventory, restoration and monitoring techniques.

 Skills or experience in plant identification,
especially those native to the Upper Newport Bay
area.

 Demonstrated ability to handle numerous tasks
concurrently and adapt to a constantly changing
environment. Strong organizational skills a must.

 Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.

 Ability and desire to work as part of a team on
complex projects and programs.

 Ability to work independently, without daily supervision.

 Computer proficiency in Access, Excel and general database applications.

 Bilingual a plus.

Other Details - Competitive salary plus excellent
benefits. Main work location will be at the
Department of Fish & Game's Marine Science Center
on Shellmaker Island in Upper Newport Bay. The
successful candidate will be an employee of the
Tides Center.

Applications will be considered immediately.  The
Coastal Commission will be coordinating the
application process on behalf of the Tides
Center. Send cover letter, resume, writing
sample, and names of at least three references
to: California Coastal Commission; Attn: Eben
Schwartz; 45 Fremont Street, Suite 2000; San
Francisco, CA 94105. Applications accepted until
November 1, 2004.
California Coastal Commission
45 Fremont Street, Suite 2000
San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 904-5210 voice
(415) 904-5216 fax
www.coastal.ca.gov





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