The Internship Program for City Youth was launched in 1995 and is a partnership with the Friends of the High School for Environmental Studies and the Brooklyn Academy of Science and the Environment.

Over the past fourteen years, The Nature Conservancy and its partners have been successfully addressing youth’s disconnect from nature in New York City through a unique partnership that couples environmental school learning curricula in urban nature with real world conservation work through paid internships on nature preserves across the Northeast.

This partnership has helped underserved urban youth gain critical life and workplace skills, provided continuous and sustained exposure to both rural and urban nature, and helped a diverse array of students pursue higher education opportunities and career paths in environmental fields.

Getting Back to Nature

Students are divided into peer groups of three and paired with trained mentors for a four-week field season in July, where they leave New York City to live and work on nature preserves. Nature Conservancy staff teach the students to assist with land management, educational outreach and scientific research in a safe and supervised natural environment.

They also enjoy other first time activities such as camping, kayaking, and swimming. Students learn about career opportunities in conservation, complete four 35-hour paid work weeks, and visit three colleges. Most of these urban students have never had the opportunity to connect with the natural world or explore colleges outside of the city. 

The students develop critical life and workplace skills while living independently, away from their friends and families. They participate in demanding field work, manage time sheets and budgets, work as a team, cook, clean, and do laundry. Their efforts are also featured in local print and radio interviews. The program demands physical and intellectual motivation, multi-cultural exchange, conflict-resolution, responsibility, and career development exercises.

When the students return to the city in the fall, they share what they have learned from the program with their classmates and their communities. They maintain contact with Conservancy staff and our partners, who provide college and career guidance. The Conservancy also offers alumni meetings, classroom presentations and additional internships to the students.

Through outreach and education, the program enables our urban youth to connect with the natural world and, in doing so, fosters a hopeful future for the next generation of environmentalists, conservationists, and stewardship ambassadors.

National Recognition

This year, the Conservancy's efforts were recognized by the National Forum on Children and Nature for demonstrating new and creative ways to reconnect children with nature. The Forum reviewed over 560 proposals, and ultimately endorsed 30 projects around the country based on their relevance, impact and sustainability. By endorsing this project, the Forum commits to raising visibility and support of the program to connect more environmentally themed high schools across the nation and ensure that urban youth in multiple cities can experience the benefits of extended time in nature through residential summer internships.

Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © TNC.