10 Internship/Volunteer opportunities at the Florida Forest Service in Fort Myers.

The Florida Forest Service (FFS) consists of more than 1250 dedicated employees with the mission to protect and manage the forest resources of Florida, ensuring that they are available for future generations.

Wildfire prevention and suppression are key components in our efforts to protect homeowners from the threat of damage in a natural, fire-dependent environment. We are dedicated to training individuals to meet these goals.

In addition to managing over one million acres of State Forests for multiple public uses including timber, recreation and wildlife habitat, we also provide services to landowners throughout the state with technical information and grant programs.

Volunteer/Internship Opportunities

The most important benefit to volunteering is the immeasurable satisfaction derived from being a member of one of Florida's finest conservation, wildfire suppression and emergency response teams. As a member of the Florida Forest Service's volunteer team you may work in either a rural or urban area or work in an office or in the forest. We have several Volunteer Service Areas to choose from.

The Florida Forest Service at the Caloosahatchee Forestry Center, located in Fort Myers, FL is offering 10 placesfor Internship through our Volunteer Program for Bachelor and Master Students of Forest, Natural and Environmental Sciences to participate in some 6-8 weeks forest management projects and activities to be executed in Lee, Hendry and Collier Counties. Many of them are permanently running all year round, while some projects would be starting between January and June 2015.

 Our Volunteer Program is divided in four Core Activity Areas:

               i.      Outreach and Wildfire Prevention Assistance:

Prepare for and/or attend wildfire prevention events with Florida Forest Service personnel to promote information, education, and prevention tasks.  Interact with people at events to teach about safety from wildfires, multiple—use forest management, and state forest recreation opportunities.  Potential candidate must be interested in speaking to the general public at a wide range of events and coordinating games, Smokey Bear meet and greet, or fire clown education sessions.

 Volunteer benefits: public speaking and customer service experience.

              ii.      Natural Resource Assistance:

Assist a forester and/or biologist or other FFS personnel in conducting natural resource management work.  Examples can include: forest inventory work and tree measuring; tree planting; exotic treatment and spraying; flagging of management areas for thinning or mechanical fuel reduction work; prescribed burning and understory management; writing burn plans; managing harvest contracts; conduct monitoring.

 Volunteer benefits: natural resource management experience.

            iii.      Maintenance Assistance:

Assist FFS personnel in the ‘need to get done’ aspects of State Forest or Work Area projects.  Appropriate for someone who wants an inside look at FFS work.

 Volunteer benefits: hands-on experience in facility maintenance and small repair projects.

           iv.      Recreation Management Assistance:

Assist FFS personnel in all aspects of activities that create the recreation experience at OSSF and/or PSSF to include the following: blazing of trails; pruning of tree limbs and mowing grass; repairing fences and other recreation program infrastructure (picnic tables, kiosks, signs, etc.); and, setting up special event areas (bike tours, hiking tours, outreach days, etc.).

 Volunteer benefits: recreation program management experience;

Teams will work closely with biological scientists, foresters, firefighters, forest rangers, local volunteers and students. Training will be provided by experienced leaders, so no previous experience is needed but wilderness and camping.

Facilities at the State Forests are basic, so bringing a sturdy tent, a rain cap, a hammock, insect repellent and fresh clothes should be a must due South Florida’s changeable weather, especially in January- March. The Florida Forest Service could bring transport -while on the worksite only- and basic accommodation (on-site primitivecamping areas with portable restrooms). Refrigerator and/or coolers are available on each State Forest Office.

If you want to learn more about our State Forests in Collier, Hendry and Lee Counties, check this out:

1)      Okaloacoochee Slough State Forest: http://goo.gl/D4ysDO

2)      Picayune Strand State Forest: http://goo.gl/yZjRvJ

(Additional information and references from this area can be found on the Web under Southwest Florida)

At this time, the Caloosahatchee Forestry Center only accepts interns for a minimum of 4 weeks and a maximum of 2 months. Interns are not financially remunerated by FFS. The costs associated with the latter must be borne by the nominating institution, related institution or government, which may provide the required financial assistance to its students; or by the student, who will have to obtain financing for subsistence and make his or her own arrangements for travel, accommodation, etc. as well as Proof of medical and life/accident insurance valid for the location in which the internship will be carried out.

Subsequent Employment: 

The purpose of the Internship/Volunteer Program is not to lead to further employment with FFS but to complement an intern’s studies. Therefore, there should be no expectation of employment at the end of an internship.
It is important to note that interns are responsible to arrange for their own visa and residence documents, and need to plan for these well in advance.