Opportunities

What is Oregon Caves National Monument?

Oregon Caves is a unit of the National Park Service which administers such places such as Grand Canyon National Park, Yosemite National Park, Redwood National Park, and many other significant natural and historic sites. The Oregon Caves unit contains a three-mile cave system, old-growth forest, pristine watershed and a historic district which includes the Oregon Caves Chateau, a National Historic Landmark. We are located at an elevation of 4000 feet in the Siskiyou Mountains, a region identified for its rare geology.

Oregon Caves Interpretation Positions

Interpreters at the Oregon Caves have a variety of opportunities to share their knowledge and love for the National Parks to visitors. Responsibilities at the Oregon Caves include orienting visitors to the Monument, leading cave tours, outdoor education/recreation program (Ranger Programs), historic interpretation and tours of the chateau, contributing to the photography and interpretation media of the Monument .

Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteers-In-Parks are Very Important People (VIPs)! Volunteers share many of the same responsibilities at the Oregon Caves as do Interpreters.

Volunteers also have unique opportunities to explore parts of the cave not on the tour route and contribute to the Resource Management staff by researching the cave.

Interns can capitalize on two distinct programs at the Oregon Caves.

1. Curriculum Based Education Program
2. Visitor Services, Outdoor Recreation & Interpretation

For the latest information about jobs in the National Park Service visit www.nps.gov/personnel/ for more information.

Visit www.usajobs.opm.gov/, the Federal Government's Official Job site for more information of the latest employment available.

Curriculum Based Education Program

This component of our intern program is offered during the spring and fall seasons when school groups from local schools come to Oregon Caves on field trips. Both seasons extend for approximately 10 weeks which offers interns an opportunity to work 300-400 hours. We provide curriculum-based activities for school groups ranging from the first grade to the seventh grade. Each program consists of five steps:

1. an activity conducted by the teacher in their classroom
2. a NPS staff member going to the school and delivering a presentation in the classroom
3. a field trip to Oregon Caves
4. a forest walk led by a ranger on one of the monument's trails
5. a follow-up activity done by the teacher in their classroom

By participating in the Oregon Caves Curriculum Based Education Program Internship, interns obtain experience and training in presenting programs in three distinct environments (classroom, cave, forest), work with school groups of many age levels, learn to identify common safety issues when working with school groups in outdoor environments, obtain basic skills in thematic interpretation and learn a wide range of facts on cave ecology, forest ecology, wildlife biology, botany, geology, etc.

In addition to the knowledge to be gained through delivering programs, we also offer interns an opportunity to develop supplemental programs that teachers can use in step one & five (described above) or create programs we can use when rainy weather prevents us from going on our forest walk.

We also have a series of student handouts which can be sent to students who write to the monument and request information about its geology, biology, wildlife, cave life, etc. Many of these handouts are posted on the web so teachers all over the nation can download them as supplements for various components of their curriculum during the school season. Consult the CBE Homepage for more information.

Basic skills in developing of websites could also be included as part of the internship. These supplemental projects expand the intern's experiences to include curriculum relevant program development, development of media that expand the effectiveness of activities and development of basic Desk-Top publishing skills.

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Visitor Services, Outdoor Recreation & Interpretation

This component of our intern program is offered only during the summer season when summer is at its peak. The season extends for approximately 10 weeks which offers interns an opportunity to work 300-400 hours. There are many aspects that an intern can pursue including working in a Visitor Center and/or Information Station, developing and presenting interpretive programs, demonstrations and nature hikes or working on a variety of Resource Management projects (cave restoration, bird surveys, etc).

Usually we first ask interns to tell us what they envision their career goals to be and then we try to tailor an internship that includes as many aspects as we can provide. Interns will be assigned at least one project they must complete as a requirement for finishing the program satisfactorily. Other assignments will be given with the intention of building a portfolio of experience that will provide the maximum effectiveness when interns apply for professional positions in the future.

An example of a typical daily schedule an intern might expect would include 1-2 hours working in an information station, 1 hour to deliver 1-2 twenty-minute interpretive programs (or a 30 minute nature walk), 1 hour working at the computer on handouts and 1-2 hours working in the field on a Resource Management project. The intern might round out the day by roving one of the monument's trails. Each day may be scheduled a little different with as much flexibility as is possible so interns can accomplish their goals and, of course, have some fun.

By participating in the Oregon Caves Summer Internship, Interns gain experience and training in presenting thematic interpretive programs, becoming familiar with operations at an information station and/or visitor center, learning to identify common safety issues when working with the public, and gaining knowledge of a wide range of facts on cave ecology, forest ecology, wildlife biology, botany, geology, etc. Additional opportunities include working on the development of children activities, which can be used in our Junior Ranger program. Training can be provided on the use of software used to generate these activity sheets. Interns can gain experience in development of handouts and use of Desk-Top publishing software.

Finally, any field or lab work done with the Resource Management division will fortify the interns understanding of resource issues common to all National Park units and gives them first hand experience in what measures must be taken to preserve and protect the ecology found within the monument's boundaries.

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