Blue Technology & Ocean Cleaning Solutions Virtual/Remote Internship
Blue Technology & Ocean Cleaning Solutions Virtual/Remote Internship
Seaside Sustainability is always on the search for innovative Blue Technology. We are currently communicating with an agent from Poralu Marine - an innovative marine debris and oil waste intervention company - for the New England and New York region. These cleaners make direct contributions to cleaning harbors, marinas, and beaches in which they are located while also educating the general public on the negative consequences of marine waste. While technological devices can help reduce the debris problem, education is the ultimate solution.
Through the development of an educational curriculum and other resources, the Blue Technology team seeks to build partnerships with various organizations to utilize marine debris intervention devices as educational tools. If you aspire to see tangible evidence of your conservation efforts, this team is a great fit for you. The more widely technologies are distributed, the greater amount of plastics and oil are removed from our waterways. We are also able to increase our audience reach, helping more learn about the dangers of ocean pollution. – This helps move us towards sustainability goals!
Our team, formerly known as Seabins, has changed our name to Blue Technology to reflect our pivot towards a broader reach beyond a single product. Recently, we have begun working with Poralu Marine and their line of products known as Searial Cleaners. This simply means our debris intervention products have become bigger and better! Recently, we have begun shifting our focus to local Do It Yourself Blue “Technologies” that any community, and ourselves, could make at home! With this, we aim to offer more ways to clean up rivers, streams, and marinas for a broader range of communities. Searial Cleaners include:
- BeBot- A remote beach sand sifter collected buried trash;
- InvisiBubble- A tube line on marina bottoms aimed supply oxygen and guide floating trast;
- CollecThor- A large debris collector attached to marina docks;
- Pixie Drone- A manual and/or autonomous surface drone working to collect floating debris.
Blue Tech User Relations
The subteam actively contacts potential partners who would benefit from a marine debris intervention device. The focus is on building partnerships and providing new clients with tools and resources to make the most of the debris cleaners. This sub-team has also developed an educational curriculum to help guide partners through using these devices as a method for educating the public about the issue of marine debris.
Job Description:
- Helping Seaside Sustainability understand and promote innovative technologies in the marine industry.
- Assist with outreach and promotion for the Clean Coast Coalition.
- Contribute to creating user-friendly materials and guides for technology products and programs.
Desired Skills/Experience:
- Interest or background in marine technology or related fields.
- Experience in developing and promoting educational or technical materials.
- Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple projects.
- Proficiency in creating precise, accessible work for diverse audiences.
- Experience in outreach and community engagement is beneficial.
Grants/Sponsorships:
This subteam works to secure grant funding for Blue Technology, including Poralu Searial Cleaners and other marine debris cleaners, which will help us implement a large-scale waste program in Massachusetts and surrounding states! This subteam researches qualifying grant opportunities and writes grant applications to achieve this goal. This subteam is also working on completing a business plan that focuses on reaching underserved communities and easily applying for grants in the future.
Job Description:
- Support the identification of potential sponsors and grant opportunities.
- Assist in the preparation of sponsorship proposals and grant applications.
- Participate in communication and relationship-building with existing sponsors and grantors.
- Helping with the implementation of Seaside Sustainability’s new T.R.A.S.H Community Cleanup Program.
Desired Skills/Experience:
- Strong writing and research skills, with the ability to craft compelling narratives for sponsorship and grant proposals.
- Experience in fundraising, sponsorship, or grant writing is preferred.
- Excellent interpersonal skills for relationship-building with sponsors and grantors.
- Ability to work both in a team and independently and meet deadlines.
- Familiarity with nonprofit funding sources and grant databases is a plus.
“Sustainability, Education, Action”
What is Seaside: Seaside Sustainability is a nationally recognized, award-winning 501(c)(3) charitable organization dedicated to community engagement, public education, and environmental conservation. Seaside aims to be a leader in environmental and STEM educational programs and recognition initiatives. We help by promoting public awareness about the importance of environmental health, providing resources to develop problem-solving skills, and chances to get engaged as part of a community to take action. We organize our works and initiatives around these areas: plastic mitigation, marine citizen science, sustainability education, and solar energy in the community.
Why Intern at Seaside: Seaside’s internship program is hands-down one of the best in the area! With its roots firmly seated in education and hands-on learning, there is no doubt that that is why we have more than 50 interns at any given point throughout the year. Our programs and initiatives encourage members of the community, young and old, to build and nurture a relationship with local land and seascapes. An internship at Seaside allows you to explore a myriad of internship opportunities, relevant to almost any future interest. Join Seaside Sustainability for any season, or during breaks in your school schedule. We are looking for part-time interns in high school, college, and beyond to work on a diverse and challenging array of projects and initiatives. We are accepting applications for unpaid internships, with hours available any day of the week and practically any time of day: weekdays, weekends, and evenings included. We prefer to have our local interns work in person at the office in Gloucester, and we also invite interns from all over the United States and internationally to apply. Seaside Sustainability provides interns with real and meaningful work, and internships are available in any season with flexible time schedules.
Mission: Seaside Sustainability's mission is to preserve and protect the world's oceans, seas, wetlands, and estuaries by motivating citizens to evaluate the critical issues facing the water environment, educating the public on best practices for sustainability, and providing guidance for taking effective action. Among our most important areas of focus are the elimination of consumer plastics and the creation of educational programs for students of all ages. By partnering with diverse stakeholders, including educational institutions, environmental groups, and other organizations across the public and private sectors, Seaside Sustainability is committed to building an informed citizenry to address the sustainability of water-based ecosystems in communities around the world.
Vision Statement: Seaside’s programs and initiatives encourage members of the community, of all ages, to build and nurture a relationship with local land and seascapes. We believe that environmental challenges can be overcome by instilling ethical and social responsibility into our existence. And we address these challenges by illuminating the heavy costs of environmental degradation by providing resources to develop skills, solutions, and community involvement.
What Interns Do at Seaside Sustainability: Our interns are not limited to just one role; we encourage each intern to take advantage of the opportunity to explore a variety of roles and responsibilities. Our interns are never bored as they’re always given real and meaningful work that is essential to the day-to-day operation of the company. As an intern with Seaside Sustainability, you will be asked to perform a myriad of tasks, most of which can also be found at https://www.seasidesustainability.org/intern-details.
Market Research Weekly Work: In order to fulfill our mission, we need to communicate with educators who are passionate about sustainability. To meet our weekly goals of outreach to these educators, all interns are required to spend no more than 2-hours a week collecting this critical and game changing information. When you are researching these educators, you are literally selecting the people who will be changing the lives of their students by taking part in our programs. This role is one of the most important parts of working here at Seaside. You will gain so many useful skills such as how to be a more effective researcher and how to remain organized all while playing a key role in expanding the size and scale of Seaside. As Interns join Seaside’s leadership, they take on increasing responsibilities and are not required to do weekly information collection.
Course Credit: Students may receive course credit for this internship. Staff will work with the intern’s school/advisor on achieving desired learning outcomes and completing all necessary paperwork.
Requirements: Seaside Sustainability requires interns to work at least 15 hours per week.
President’s Volunteer Service Award: Seaside Sustainability is now certified to give out the “President’s Volunteer Service Award” to eligible interns. This award was created to, “recognize the important role of volunteers in America’s strength and national identity. This award honors individuals whose service positively impacts communities in every corner of the nation and inspires those around them to take action, too.” This is a great achievement to put on your resume! What are the requirements for this award?
- Must be a citizen of the United States or a lawful permanent resident
- All hours must be completed within a 12-month period to be counted towards the final total
- All hours must be tracked in Seaside’s weekly shift report to be counted
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement: Seaside recognizes that environmental issues are human issues, and therefore everyone has a right to be a part of the solution. Seaside is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive environment that welcomes all participants irrespective of their gender, race, sexuality, religion, national origin, age, veteran status, or socioeconomic status. The demographics of our internship program directly reflects the composition of our national outreach while the composition of our board more reflects the local composition of our communities. With the understanding that Environmental Issues disproportionately affect low income communities, minority communities, and communities of color, we are actively seeking to ensure that our environmental work, our projects, and programs are crafted in a way that both reflects and aids in combating the plight of minorities, of people of color, of economically challenged, and other disadvantaged individuals.
General Skills Needed:
- Passionate and dedicated to making a difference in the environment
- Good virtual communication skills
- Comfortable working in teams
- Good time management skills
- Willingness to learn and work outside of their comfort zone
- Basic knowledge of communication technology (G-Suite, Zoom, Email)
- Leadership skills
Management Roles
Advisors
Seaside Sustainability’s Community Advisory Team members work directly with our Executive Director, Eric Magers, and work alongside Board members, Intern Directors, Management Fellows, other Community Advisors and a large cadre of interns organized in teams to further advance the organization’s goals. Common Advisor duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to: Leading implementation of new management and organizational processes and procedures across the program. Delegating tasks to appropriate team members. Working closely with the Human Resources team to manage and oversee recruitment for future internship sessions. Collecting and analyzing feedback from interns throughout the program to gauge satisfaction and success. Skills Needed: Good communication with people of all walks of life, Leadership skills, Experience coordinating groups of people, A strong desire to facilitate a positive, hands-on internship experience.
Strategic Assistants
Seaside Sustainability’s rapid growth is requiring the organization to look for enthusiastic students who wish to take their passion for the environment to the next level. To promote this, Seaside will provide Strategic Assistant with a professionally guided internship that assists with intern management strategies and supports their aspirations for career development. SAs take the lead on more than 10 Seaside projects working with 3-4 departments simultaneously. Being a SA is truly a win-win situation: the environment benefits, interns benefit, and SA gains invaluable experience. We are actively seeking to recruit college students, graduate students, and those with leadership experience to fulfill the role of a SA. Interns at Seaside Sustainability may be promoted to the position of a SA by exemplifying the characteristics of a model intern. Skills Needed: Project development, Task delegation, Superior organizational and communication skills
Management Fellows
A Fellow exemplifies organization, leadership, and communication skills and has the opportunity to lead a team of 12-15 interns within one of our departments throughout their internship. This position is more demanding and requires someone with the ability to check emails and make phone calls outside of regular working hours. The duties of this position include interviewing applicants, onboarding new interns, meeting with interns 1:1 every other week, reporting to the Advisor, and ensuring the success of both interns and projects. Skills Needed: Project development, task delegation, superior organizational and communication skills.
Department Manager
Similar to a Fellow, a Department Manager also exemplifies organization, leadership, and communication skills but focuses on leading a sub-team within a department. A Department Manager has the opportunity to lead a team of 5-8 interns, ensuring that their sub-team's projects align with the department's goals. This position requires the ability to check emails and make phone calls outside of regular working hours. The duties include interviewing applicants, onboarding new interns, meeting with interns 1:1 every other week, reporting to the Fellow or Advisor, and ensuring the success of both interns and projects. Skills Needed: Project development, task delegation, superior organizational and communication skills.
Make Sure To Follow Seaside on Social Media!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seasusinc/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seasusinc/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/seasusinc
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDqPZWdPIQG37aaSC7NShOg
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/seaside-sustainability-inc/
Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4lfTZpbv0ELrkU2po8SRfo
And remember to check out our partner organization National STEM Honor Society www.nstem.org for another great internship opportunity!