Forestry Fellow

Project summary

The California Climate Action Corps (CCAC) is part of a statewide initiative to address and mitigate the effects of climate change. CCAC matches Fellows with organizations to mobilize community members to take direct climate action through education, volunteer mobilization, and assessment focused on urban greening, organic waste diversion and edible food recovery, and wildfire resiliency. This is a climate-focused, workforce development program for emerging climate and environmental leaders.

Opportunity description

TreePeople, one of California's largest independent environmental organizations, is dedicated to empowering individuals to embrace personal responsibility for nurturing a safe, healthy, enjoyable, and sustainable environment. With a team comprising educators, organizers, foresters, and thousands of trained volunteers, TreePeople leads the charge in mobilizing communities to collaborate towards achieving climate resilience. Over the past 5 decades, TreePeople has engaged more than 3 million individuals in planting and caring for over 3 million trees. Our primary objective is to actively engage and organize communities at the local level, throughout Los Angeles County, and beyond, catalyzing a transformative response to climate change and establishing a replicable global model for climate resiliency. TreePeople is seeking 4 Forestry Fellows for the Urban Forestry team who are passionate about the environment, urban greening, forestry, climate resilience, and environmental justice, particularly those from the communities we aim to serve. The Urban Forestry Team will collaborate with the Forestry Fellows on the Mountain Forestry Team - based out of Beverly Hills, CA - to coordinate wildfire resilience efforts. Duties include, but are not limited to: Conduct post-fire reforestation and habitat restoration efforts in designated areas, removing invasive species and flash fuels to preserve native plant ecosystem in urban environments. Identify suitable sites for tree planting initiatives in urban areas, lead tree planting and maintenance activities, and monitor site progress to promote equitable tree canopy coverage. Recruit, coordinate, and support volunteers to assist with urban tree planting and care events and forest restoration to foster community engagement, raise awareness, and promote environmental stewardship. Cultivate relationships with community members through effective communication, volunteer retention efforts, and event participation to encourage community engagement and sustain conservation effort.

Benefits

• $33,600 stipend
• $10,000 education award
• 340 hours of professional development
• Minimum essential healthcare
• Loan forbearance
• Food and childcare assistance (for those eligible)