Author Archives: rarmstro

Unpaid Internship: 2019 Summer Internship @ Phil’s Farm, Eliot Maine, Applications Due by March 8

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2019 Summer Internship at Phil’s Farm
Want to work on an organic farm in Maine? Learn about organic agriculture, entrepreneurship and how to run a small business from a 2013 Bowdoin grad on his farm in Eliot, ME. Apply for the summer internship at Phil’s Farm- a 2 acre, no-till, no-spray farm that grows organic vegetables, herbs and flowers. Applications are due March 8th

Phil’s Farm is a 1 acre, no-till farm that produces organic vegetables, herbs and flowers in Eliot, ME. The farm was started by Phil Cuddeback, class of Bowdoin 2013, in the spring of 2018. The food is sold primarily to a 50 member CSA with a pickup location at a brewery in Portsmouth, NH. The CSA allows Phil and his farm crew the opportunity to engage with their customers and in turn helps the customers gain a better appreciation for the food they’re eating. Other markets include a farmers market in York and a couple restaurants.

Phil’s Farm believes in producing affordable food in a way that is good for the environment, the people producing it and the end consumers. As a result, we do not use any pesticides, herbicides or harmful chemicals on the farm. We also strive to minimize the use of gasoline, oil and plastic products and instead use solar power, hand tools and reusable bags or no packaging at all whenever possible.

To learn more, check out www.philsfarmcsa.com and @philsfarm_inmaine on Instagram.

Hours, Dates & Schedule: The internship will take place from June 3rd to August 30th.

The expected hours on the farm are Monday through Friday 6am to 4pm with a quick break for breakfast and an hour for lunch. Attending the CSA pickup on Thursdays from 5-8pm is optional but can be a fun way to interact with the customers.

The crew this year will be myself and one MOFGA (Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners) apprentice. The apprentice will likely be someone who is learning to farm but will be with me from April to October.

Responsibilities

 Greenhouse planting, watering and potting up – We fill trays with potting mix, plant the seeds, cover with more potting mix and water them in. Each day, all the trays get watered. Certain plants like tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers get moved from trays to larger pots to give them more space before being transplanted outside.

Bed preparation – this involves raking leaves off the bed, broadforking to loosen the soil, applying compost and amendments and raking the bed again to create a level surface.

Transplanting – the act of taking seedlings from the greenhouse and planting them in the field.

Harvesting – we use a knife to cut greens or simply our hands to harvest larger products like tomatoes and cucumbers.

Washing and packing – we use both a series of dunk tanks and a spray hose to clean the vegetables. They then get weighed and packed into bins or bags.

Pest and disease management – this can involve physically removing pests like the cabbage worm or protecting drops with a thin fabric sheet called row cover. Disease management can involve pruning and removing infected plants.

Almost all of the tasks will be done together as a team. This allows me to best teach the tasks as well as to work efficiently while having fun.

Expectations

 Firstly, I’d like to share the expectations I have for myself. These are:

  • To create a fun, educational and effective work environment
  • To end work at 4pm each day – this give you time to relax, make dinner and do things off the farm in the
  • To understand that you may be learning a lot of things for the first time and that things may take you longer to do while you’re learning
  • To appreciate your hard work and contribution to the farm and business

My expectations for you are to:

  • Work hard
  • Try your best with each activity
  • Be ready to start work on time each day
  • Have fun
  • To learn
  • Be communicative and honest with me with any challenges you’re experiencing directly related to the farm
  • And hopefully, to fall in love with

Skills, abilities and perspective desired in a successful candidate

 A successful candidate should feel comfortable and enjoy working with their body. You should also be comfortable working on tasks for a couple hours at a time – sometimes we’ll listen to music, have a conversation or just enjoy the silence in almost a meditative state. You should also enjoy working outside and be willing to work in all kinds of weather conditions.

I would like you to have the understanding and to keep in mind that I am running a business and that this is my second year doing so. This can sometimes be stressful and I may ask that we try to do things faster or skip certain steps in order to get certain tasks finished in a given amount of time. Farming is all about timing and process.

Application requirements: Resume and a brief cover letter.

Housing

Housing is not included but I can help you find suitable housing through craigslist and my network of friends in the area.

Compensation

This is an unpaid internship. If you are a college student, please reach out to your school to see if summer internship funding is available. For non-college students, there may be educational grants and funding available for unpaid internships. I’m happy to help you find such funding to the best of my ability. As with all jobs of a farm, you are welcome to take home as much food from the farm as you would like.

Contact

Please send you resume and brief cover letter to me at [email protected].

Off Campus Event: Environmental & Education Policy Panels with CBB alumni; Friday, March 1st

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Are you interested in working on policy issues? Are you curious about government, or politics? Do you have a strong conviction about education, or the environment?

Join fellow students from Bates and Colby with these shared interests for “Policy Day” on Friday, March 1. We’ll travel to the State House in (transport provided) Augusta and meet alums from all 3 schools. You’ll learn what lobbyists and policy analysts do, what legislators do, and what a career in the executive branch can look like.

We’ll leave campus around 12:45 PM, and be back before 6. In between, you’ll get to listen to and ask questions of people pursuing public policy careers in a variety of ways.

Space is limited so you must rsvp here to sign up:

https://bowdoin.wufoo.com/forms/q1euo03o0ylc2on/

On Campus Event: “Diversity, decline and sustainability of wild bees”, Thursday. 2.21 @ 4:25, Druck 20

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“Diversity, decline and sustainability of wild bees”

Dr. Sandra Rehan is an Assistant Professor at the University of New Hampshire in the Department of Biological Sciences.  In her talk, she will discuss the diversity of wild bees in Northern New England including status assessments. The specific questions she will address are: What species reside in Northern New England and what are their habitat requirements?  Do species respond to land use change and how can we sustain healthy pollinator populations?  Dr. Rehan addresses these questions through a combination of field- and museum-based studies and through the integration of behavior, ecology and genetics.

Dr. Rehan earned her bachelor’s and PhD degrees from the Brock University, Canada.

Internship Opportunities: The Nature Conservancy, Wisconsin

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Baraboo Hills Land Stewardship Intern: Learn about land stewardship and help manage preserves in the beautiful Baraboo Hills this summer! Work in the field alongside Conservancy staff and gain hands-on experience in invasive species management, boundary posting, easement monitoring, GIS, prescribed fire, volunteer engagement, and more. This is a 10-week paid summer internship based in our Baraboo, WI office. Deadline: February 24.

Mukwonago Water and Land Conservation Intern: Spend your summer working outdoors and on the water in the Mukwonago River Watershed! Help preserve habitat quality by monitoring boat recreation, collecting and compiling data, and reaching out to boaters and community members about aquatic invasive species. You’ll also assist with land stewardship projects and agricultural research on the impact of prairie strips in crop fields. This is a 10-week paid summer internship based in our East Troy, WI office. Deadline: February 24.

Outreach and Communications Intern: Connect with volunteers and the public and help spread the word about conservation work! You’ll contribute communications material to our website and newsletter, plan and attend events, take photos, and interact with volunteers. Meanwhile, you’ll learn about Wisconsin conservation and gain skills in public outreach and marketing. This is a 10-week paid summer internship based in our Madison, WI office, with some field trip opportunities. Deadline: March 3.

Development Intern: Join a close-knit development team with an invaluable role in supporting land and water conservation in Wisconsin! You’ll gain experience with all aspects of fundraising work, with a special focus on connecting with and collecting stories from longtime supporters. Projects will include preparing for events, thanking donors, managing data, and writing materials. This is a 10-week paid summer internship based in our Madison, WI office with occasional field trip opportunities. Deadline: March 3.

Seasonal Summer Job; Mentor for High School Interns: Inspire the next generation of conservationists by serving as the Mentor for our summer high school internship program in Mukwonago and Milwaukee. You’ll supervise, work alongside, and create a positive experience for a team of six high school interns working in the Conservancy’s Mukwonago preserves and Milwaukee County Parks. This is a 12-week paid position from early June to late August. Strong candidates will have previous work experience with youth and in outdoor settings as well as cross-cultural experience. Deadline: February 24.

Get more details and apply now: www.nature.org/careers

On Campus Event: “Institutional Resilience in Turbulent Times”, Mon 2/11, 7PM (Kresge Auditorium)

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 “Institutional Resilience in Turbulent Times”, Allen Springer
Monday, Feb 11 7:00 PM
Kresge Auditorium, Visual Arts Center

Professor Allen Springer will explore how contemporary international institutions are responding to the challenges posed by a wave of populist and nationalist sentiment, which often challenges the relevance of the institutions themselves. How do institutions operating in such diverse arenas as security, humanitarian, and environmental policy absorb and adapt to these pressures and attempt to confront effectively issues ranging from major transboundary movements of people seeking political asylum to global climate change?

Springer is a scholar of international environmental law and policy, focusing on issues of multilateral environmental governance, particularly in a North American context. He is the author of The International Law of Pollution: Protecting the Global Environment in a World of Sovereign States, and Cases of Conflict: Transboundary Disputes and the Development of International Environmental Law. A graduate of Amherst College and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Springer joined the Bowdoin faculty in 1976, serving as Bowdoin’s Dean of Students from 1980-82 and chairing the department of government and legal studies on several occasions. Springer delivered the Karofsky Faculty Encore Lecture in 2002, and in 2006 received the Bowdoin Alumni Council Award for Faculty and Staff.

William Nelson Cromwell, a successful and nationally respected New York lawyer, established the professorship which bears his name as a gesture of admiration for the College which produced many of the men who worked for and with his law firm. Born in 1854, Cromwell rose quickly to prominence in the world of legal affairs in New York. The William Nelson Cromwell Chair was provided for in his estate upon his death in 1948. It is Bowdoin’s only chair designed essentially for prelaw study.

Free and open to the public.