Thank you for your interest in an internship with the Golden Gate National Parks Nursery Program!  Below is information about the program. We accept applications in fall with internships going from January to December for each yearly cohort.

We also offer academic internships for students currrently enrolled at San Francisco State University, City College of San Francisco, and College of Marin. 

Ask Us A Question

If you have questions about the year-long internship program, we welcome your emails! Contact Brian Teng, Operations Manager, at nurseries@parksconservancy.org.

Application Tips

Submit a thoughtful cover letter and resume including relevant personal and professional experience.

It’s okay to keep the format simple. We’re looking for content rather than appearance. In fact, for our initial review, we use a rubric to assess applications. Include previous work experience (in any field, including retail positions, food service, campus jobs, etc.), relevant volunteer experience (especially working outdoors and/or with community members), and your goals for the internship.

During our initial review of applications, we cover personal information to ensure we’re focusing on skills and experience. The information we conceal includes name, phone number, address, email, school name, and GPA. We do this based on best practices for equitable hiring.

That said, we welcome you to include special skills, personal background, and unique perspectives you would bring to the position. Some folks choose to highlight multilingual abilities, relationship building skills, previous experience with equity and inclusion work, art, photography, GIS, etc. If it's important to you, we'd like to know about it!

Applications for our next cohort will be accepted in Fall 2020, to start January 2021. Once the application window is open, email your application (resume and cover letter, in PDF format) to conservancynurseries@gmail.com.

Application Timeline

Application Due Date: Applications for our 2021 cohort will be accepted in Fall 2020. Once the application window is open, email your application (resume and cover letter, in PDF format) to conservancynurseries@gmail.com.

Initial Review: We’ll review all applications received by the due date. It usually takes us 1-2 weeks to get through them all. Once we’re finished reviewing the entire applicant pool, expect to hear from us. Whether you’ve been selected to move on in the process or not, we’ll send you an update.

Phone Interview: For those selected, we expect to do phone interviews (15-30 minutes) around the end of October / early November.

Web Cam Interview: For those selected, we expect to do a second round of interviews (45 minutes) via web cam (e.g., Skype, Google Hangouts, Zoom) sometime in November.

Offers: We anticipate offers to go out towards the end of November / early December.

Start: We expect the first day of the internship to be Tuesday, January 12, 2021. Interns may move in the weekend before.

Internship Locations

While interns have the opportunity to visit each of our sites, each intern has a primary work location where they will spend the majority of their time. We hire the cohort simultaneously. By applying to the internship, you will be considered for all available positions. If you'd like to specify a preference, you may do so during the interview process.

THE PRESIDIO NURSERY: 3 internship positions

The Presidio Native Plant Nursery attracts many Bay Area visitors and is operated through a partnership of three agencies. This nursery facility is the largest and sits in the heart of a former military base, walking distance to the Golden Gate Bridge. With multiple education and volunteer programs each week, the Presidio Nursery is a dynamic and exiciting environment.

THE MARIN HEADLANDS NURSERY: 1 internship position

Nestled in scenic and remote parklands north of the Golden Gate Bridge, the Marin Headlands Nursery has the second largest growing capacity and is surrounded by hiking trails overlooking the Pacific Ocean. School groups as well as a core group of long-term volunteers come to the site several times a week.

THE FORT FUNSTON AND OCEANA NURSERIES: 2 internship positions

The Fort Funston Nursery sits atop picturesque sea bluffs loved by local San Francisco residents. This nursery houses the longest running weekly program in which some volunteers have been participating for over 20 years. Further south, the Oceana High School Nursery is a student-focused program emphasizing the stewardship of adjacent parklands in Pacifica, CA.

Cohort Activities

Though interns work primarily at one of the locations above, interns have opportunities to work at other sites as well. Throughout the year, there are cohort activities where interns from all sites work together. There are also occasional cross-department programs where interns can join programs in different areas of the park.

Impact of the Program

Want to know what park interns do afterwards? Check out "Once Interns, Now Full-Time Park Staff: How Our Programs Are Launching Careers" (2018).