The New Jersey Watershed Ambassadors Program is an environmental stewardship-oriented AmeriCorps program designed to raise awareness about water concerns. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has hosted the program since 2000, and while the program has evolved over the last 22 years, its main goals have remained the same: promote watershed stewardship through education and direct community involvement, and monitor the health of our waterways through conducting stream assessments.

Twenty (20) Watershed Ambassadors serve from partner host agency locations, with one located in each of New Jersey’s Watershed Management Areas. From Sussex to Cape May counties!  Three (3) Source Water Protection Ambassadors serve from partner host agency locations, in north, central, and south locations and will engage in outreach and education campaigns that will lead to the protection of drinking water sources. Ambassadors serve with all sectors of society to improve the quality of New Jersey’s waterways by:

• educating the public on watershed science.
• implementing community green infrastructure.
• encouraging them to get involved in local stewardship actions.
• stewardship projects partnering with local organizations and community volunteers.
• performing habitat and biological assessments following DEP monitoring protocols to monitor the health of their WMA’s streams.

Throughout the program, extensive training in highly sought-after skills in the environmental field are provided, including ArcGIS, fieldwork experience, grant writing, project management, public speaking and presentations, green infrastructure and science communication. Members exit the program prepared to further their career in the environmental field!

Program staff reviews applications in the order they are submitted and choice of WMA/ SWP location is assigned on a first come first serve basis, so don’t delay your application!  

Application deadline is Friday July 15th!

Application for the Full-Time Watershed Ambassador Position: https://bit.ly/3xtl9Iu 

Application for the Part-Time Source Water Protection Ambassador Position: https://bit.ly/3NPNX53 

You can also use the search feature on the AmeriCorps Portal to find either application. We are a State National Program located in New Jersey.  The name of the full time position is “2022 -23 AmeriCorps NJ Watershed Ambassadors Program” and the part time position is “NJDEP – SWP Ambassadors Source Water”.

All interested applicants should create an account on the “My AmeriCorps” website before they will be able to apply. Since this is an AmeriCorps Program, applicants apply through the AmeriCorps Portal: https://my.americorps.gov/mp/recruit/registration.do 

Interested applicants can reach out to Samantha Pfeffer (samantha.pfeffer@dep.nj.gov) or Amanda Baksa (amanda.baksa@dep.nj.gov) with any questions or concerns. 

Positions we will be hiring for:

20 full-time Watershed Ambassador positions (35-40 hours a week, September-July, 1700 total hours)

3 part-time Source Water Protection (SWP) Ambassador positions (25-30 hours a week, September-April, 900 total hours)

*both Watershed Ambassadors and SWP Ambassadors serve together and are part of the same cohort. 

Below you will find some links to relevant information about our program and what it means to serve as an ambassador. 

Eligibility to Serve with the NJWAP: 

• Must have a bachelor’s degree or higher

• A valid driver’s license, dependable car for service assignment travel 

• Must be a U.S Citizen or a permanent resident of the US (must provide documentation)

NJWAP description and recent program requirements:

(full time) https://bit.ly/3OtLjSG 

(part time) https://bit.ly/3O8atq6 

Our homepage on the NJ DEP site: http://www.nj.gov/dep/wms/bears/americorps.htm 

AmeriCorps New Jersey site: https://americorps.gov/national-service-report/nj 

Our fact sheet, which has all of our current Ambassadors’ contact information, host agencies, and WMA/ SWP locations: https://bit.ly/3njLq7P 

We will be holding a virtual Open House event on Monday July 11th, 10 AM – 12 PM.  This would be a great time for anyone interested in the program to learn more and ask questions.  We will even have a few of our current members there to share their perspectives!

Register here for the open house: https://forms.gle/BXwsHcgFneTCFfDp8 

We are looking for two part time students 29 hours/week at $15.00/hour (11 weeks)!

There are currently two Integrated Pest Management projects being worked on by the University of Delaware Cooperative Extension across the state. Students will mainly work together across two focus areas:

Focus area 1: Native plants and the beneficial insects that are attracted by them. Job duties include, planting native plants, watering, weeding, spot herbicide treatments and working on interpretive signage. This student should have interests in horticulture, entomology, environmental science, or wildlife conservation. This is a great opportunity to learn more about pollinators, beneficial insects, and the native plants that support them. There is currently a plot being created in Lewis Park in Newark, a plot at the Milford Community Gardens in Kent County, and a plot will be designed somewhere in Sussex County. The student will need reliable transportation as work will be done across the state. For more information, contact: Blake Moore, Natural Resources Extension Agent, rbmoore@udel.edu

Focus area 2: This project will be building, supervising, maintaining, and implementing two turf demonstration plots to demonstrate to homeowners and Green Industry personnel Integrated Pest Management (IPM) techniques, assist with pest identification, as well as using them for pest surveillance. There will also be a component of turfgrass nutrient management BMP’s included in the work performed. Students for this project should have interests in turf, horticulture, nutrient management, and entomology. Job duties will include:

• Mowing turfgrass plots with a ride-on “zero-turn” style mower
• Cultivating soil in order to prepare the ground for turfgrass seed establishment
  • Tilling soil with walk-behind and tractor mounted equipment
  • Raking out rocks and other loose debris after cultivation
  • Leveling of the soil in order to fill in low areas and encourage natural surface drainage
• Spot spraying weeds with a backpack sprayer
• Applying pesticides to turfgrass areas
• Fertilizing turfgrass areas with a rotary spreader
• Watering, transplanting, and trimming greenhouse plants

For more information on focus area 2, please contact: John Emerson, Turf Nutrient Management Extension Agent, jremer@udel.edu