Summer Internship Program: Chesterfield County - Position 2

Primary Program Area Focus: ANR

1)     Describe your plans for this internship.  (i.e. What specifically will the intern be doing?)

Master Gardener, Environmental, and Farmer’s Market support

• Assist with Farmer’s Market preparation and support (Wednesdays May-Aug)
• Oversee the youth component (Family Fun Day, day camp field trips) of the
• Farmer’s Market
• Assist Master Gardner efforts and special events
• Assist the Environmental Educator with programs and events

 Support 4-H/Agricultural initiatives   

• Provide support and some leadership during specific day camp weeks (Animal Science, Crime Scene Investigation)
• Support programs with the 4-H Agriculture Educator & 4-H Program Technician (horticulture focus)

2.     Describe the knowledge / skills you expect the intern to gain from this experience.

• Knowledge of  urban agriculture, environmental, and agribusiness principals
• Gained experiences through programming for both youth and adult clientele
• Increased interest and passion for community development
• Greater ability to work as a team on certain projects and also to take initiative for new programming, recruitment, or training efforts
• Knowledge of effective marketing tools to promote VCE programs
• Increased knowledge and practice of effective communication skills

3.     How will the intern learn about hte breadth of VCE and our various program areas?

The Chesterfield Extension intern will be focused on supporting staff in the office with a variety of environmental, agriculture, horticulture, and science programming that occurs during the summer. Specifically, this intern will mainly assist the Master Gardener Coordinator, the Farmer’s Market manager, the Environmental Educator, and the 4-H Agriculture Educator. This intern will work with both youth and adults in a number of settings such as Bumblebee Jamboree, 4-H day camps, and Horticulture Horizons. 

The selected intern will develop experiences through interdisciplinary events that showcase all that VCE has to offer as an organization. Many of the marketing opportunities throughout the summer are collaborative efforts by the Chesterfield Extension office, which will give the interns a chance to promote and discuss everything that VCE has to offer to the community. The intern
will also have the opportunity to work with volunteers and community partners to successfully address a wide range of topics. 

The interns will learn the VCE programming model and apply it to the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the summer programs they support. There will be an expectation to provide data and develop impact statements that the supervising agent will utilize in future reporting.

Individuals with strong urban agricultural interest and experiences would be  especially strong candidates; experience in health/nutrition, working with youth and Farmer’s Markets also a plus.