Who we hire (in general)

12-20 college students over the course of the year. Interns must be enrolled in college throughout their internship (though most interns aren't taking classes during summer term). Non-students are NOT eligible for our internships. Upperclassmen are generally preferred for the indoor positions, but all classes—even freshmen—are welcome to apply for the land stewardship positions.

Students with an Iowa connection.  Eligible applicants must have graduated from an Iowa high school and/or be attending an Iowa college.

People with a variety of majors/skills, including environmental studies or related majors, landscape architecture, community-regional planning, journalism, graphic design and others. Different intern jobs require different skills, so check out the position descriptions below.

People who can commit to at least one semester or summer, often longer. Land stewardship positions are summer only, but other positions are available during most semesters. For example, we need one communications intern each semester. We can hire three different people over the course of the year, but we generally prefer to hire people who can work for two or more semesters--which cuts down on retraining time. However, we don't want to cut out students who attend distant schools and can only work in Des Moines during the summer, so we are flexible on this subject. Interns should be able to work a minimum of 12 hours/week during spring and fall semesters. Summer interns generally work 35-40 hours/week.

People who have transportation to our work sites: Except for land management interns, all internships take place in our downtown Des Moines office. Land management interns work statewide, with emphasis on eastern and northeastern Iowa. They generally camp together near their work sites during the week. All interns are responsible for providing their own housing during non-work hours, and transportation during work hours. Interns will need to carpool to camp and work sites.

People willing to work hard, learn a lot and protect Iowa's natural resources


What we pay
INHF interns earn $9.00 per hour. These internships are funded by the R.J. McElroy Trust, the Svare Family Intern Fund, Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust and others.

NOTE: If you have questions about whether or not you meet any of these criteria, feel free to contact our Intern Coordinator, Laurie Fenimore, to discuss your eligibility before applying.