For 2024, we are offering 4 paid internships in 2 project areas. Each internship is for 10 hours/week for 6 weeks at $17.75/hour.
Tree City USA (2 interns)
Farm to Table, Apricot Harvest (2 interns)
Key Dates:
Applications are due April 30
Interviews will be scheduled May 6-10
Candidate selections will be announced May 20
The internships start June 10 and end July 19.
Additional Details:
The ideal candidate will be a rising junior or senior high school student passionate about environmental issues.
The skills required are effective communication, good research skills, good time management and familiarity with the preparation of documents, spreadsheets and slides.
Interns must be willing to work as a team.
Interns must be able to work with minimal supervision.
The work will generally be from home or at the project site (pls see internship requirements)
There will be weekly in-person and/or zoom meetings with a GreenTown mentor.
TreeCIty USA mentor will be Gary Hedden, and the Farm to Table, Apricot Harvest mentors will be Jane Packard & Glenda Chang.
The internship will culminate in a slide show presentation and demonstration to the public and/or GreenTown members on the summer accomplishments.
The internships are open to: Students attending the MVLA schools OR residents of Los Altos OR residents of Los Altos Hills.
Internship 1: Tree City USA
Two interns will work on creating a guide that helps homeowners learn about the benefits of electrification and how they can go about Electrifying their home. The work will include:
Research: resources (online and other) from various organizations (ex: BayREN, FFBSV, SVCE, PCE etc.)
Review the City of Los Altos CAAP’s strategy for electrification
Organize: Gather and categorize resources from getting started to advanced.
Case Study: Interview one or more homeowners that have electrified their home to learn about and document the conversion process.
Expert Interviews: Speak with experts from SVCE and others to understand key homeowner pain points,
Guide: Create a guide that serves as a map that a homeowner can use to navigate the conversion process
Document & Share: Create a blog post summarizing your work and optionally create a social media campaign to share the work.
Internship 2: Farm to Table - Apricot Harvest
Want to help folks experience the sweet flavor of a ripe apricot plucked directly from the tree? Learn and teach about the honorable harvest that celebrates the gifts of mother earth while reducing the waste stream when food is delivered directly from farm to table. Two GreenTown interns will work with a lead intern from the Los Altos History Museum in developing an inclusive and equitable process for families to help in the apricot harvest from the Heritage Orchard, an historical landmark at the Civic Center. The harvest is usually in the last two weeks of June.
The work may include:
Create a business plan for a small fruit stand to engage the community in the harvest, using concepts such as pick-n-pay activities for families
Interview experienced local orchardists about innovative harvest approaches
Develop learning activities for participants to learn about honorable harvest practices that are respectful of the trees and others well-being
Develop on-site activities highlighting ways to reduce food waste and conserve energy, such as using a solar cooker to produce jam and nectar from over-ripe fruit
Prepare a report describing results and lessons learned in the process
Present the findings at the Apricot STEM Fair the first week of July
Please contact
if you have any questions.