RISE Internship: Sustainable Built Environments Intern at Watershed Management Group
Position Title: Sustainable Built Environments Intern
Reports to: Nicole Parks
Hours/Week: Part time; 10-15hrs must be able to work Fridays, specifically Friday mornings.
Internship Date Range: January 2026 to May 2026
Location: Tucson, AZ
About the Resilience Internships and Student Experiences (RISE) Program
The RISE Program is hosted by the Arizona Institute for Resilience (AIR) and provides undergraduate and graduate students with paid internships related to resilient environments and societies. RISE internships give students workplace setting experience with an opportunity to grow their core skills and prepare them for careers after graduation.
About the Watershed Management Group: We are a local non-profit focused on watershed health and education. We host workshops to educate the public on how to live more hydrolocal, while also limiting our impact on the environment. Additionally, we host working events to remove invasive plants at our local rivers and tributaries.
As an education based organization, we have used our office space as an educational tool which we call the Living Lab. The Living Lab is a community hub and leading demonstration site of watershed resilience in mid-town Tucson. The Living Lab features water harvesting, native habitat, food forests, passive solar energy, and monitoring systems… culminating in a campus supported entirely by rainwater! The intern will be part of the Living Lab projects team, working with a variety of staff, docents, and other volunteers at WMG, to care for and improve the sustainable desert living systems.
Internship summary:
You can expect to learn more about what it means to live more sustainably while working with a diverse group of individuals that work within different sectors of the conservation world.
The ideal candidate would be someone who is passionate about WMG’s mission, enjoys being outdoors, and is interested in developing new skills. Those skills can involve and are not limited to water harvesting, native plant care, gardening and sustainable system maintenance. While you are here you will receive training on how to maintain these systems while attending weekly educational sessions to add context to the work we do within our watershed.
Internship description:
As an intern you will work with our Living Lab project team to assist with routine maintenance of our sustainable systems on site including, composting systems, rain gardens and tanks, vegetable gardens and native plant care. Additionally, projects may arise based on the needs of the Living Lab that could include erosion control using rocks, tree trimming, and construction of new systems.
As an intern at WMG you are expected to participate in weekly onboarding and development activities with a cohort of other apprentices, interns, and docents. Training often occurs on Friday afternoons, 3-5pm.
Compensation:
The intern will be hired and paid by the University of Arizona. The pay rate is $19/hour.
Credit Requirements:
The intern will be hired as a U of A student employee.
- For internships during the academic year: applicants must be active U of A students enrolled in at least 6 credits.
Allowable Work Hours:
- During the semester, student employees are limited to 25 hours/week (20 hours/week for international students) across ALL U of A positions.
International Students:
International students should consult with International Student Services (ISS) if work authorization is needed before securing an internship. ISS advising information can be found here.
How to Apply:
Email a resume and a one-page cover letter on your interest in the position and what sustainability means to you to Nicole Parks at nparks@watershedmg.org
Applications must be submitted no later than November 24th.