Summer Job: Event Coordinator

by on May 21, 2013

SUMMER JOB POSTING

Position: Event Coordinator
Organization: Community Forests International www.forestsinternational.org
Location: Sackville, New Brunswick

Community Forests International is an start-up environmental NGO working in both Canada and Tanzania. In Canada we offer a sustainability workshop series, providing hands-on experiences in land-use and alternative living. We are seeking a enthusiastic and driven individual interested in ecology and cutting edge environmental issues. Please consider applying if you’re looking to gain skills in the not-for profit sector.

This job will consist of both office and field work; coordinating events and workshops and working with community members to strengthen a positive connection to the natural environment.

Duties:

This position will facilitate workshops on restoration forestry, forest management for carbon offsets, backyard beekeeping, permaculture, organic gardening, horse-logging, native plant identification and use, native pollinators, and watercourse restoration; also including Acadian Forest biodiversity presentations and public engagement events.

Responsibilities include:

  • Coordinate facilities, materials and instructors for CFI’s Workshop Series
  • Assist in education curriculum planning and co-hosting education and outreach events
  • Assist in scheduling and organizing public engagement events
  • Provide workshop information and facilitating registration for workshop participants.
  • Provide clerical support as needed
  • Participate preparation of work plans and budgets relating to the workshop series.

Skills:

  • Experience in environmental science, social science, geography, biology and international development.
  • Experience coordinating events
  • Strong written oral and communication skills
  • Ability to be self-directed as well as a team player
  • Ability to facilitate and organize volunteers and workshop participants
  • Strong organizational skills
  • Ability to work outdoors and handle some minor physical labor

All applicants must be registered in full-time in the previous academic year and must intend on returning to school full-time for the 2013-2014 academic year. Community Forests International encourages everyone to apply including those from traditionally underrepresented groups such as women, visible minorities and First Nations.

Wage: $12/hour, 35 hours/week

Number of weeks to be determined (ending August 31 2013)

To apply, please e-mail your resume and a brief covering letter to
jobs@forestsinternational.org*

or mail it to Community Forests International, 10 School Lane, Sackville, NB E4L 3J9
as soon as possible and not later than May 31, 2013.
No telephone calls, follow-up emails or agencies please.
Applicants must be legally entitled to work in Canada.

Summer Job: Communications

by on May 21, 2013

SUMMER JOB POSTING

Position: Communications Coordinator
Organization: Community Forests International www.forestsinternational.org
Location: Sackville, New Brunswick

Community Forests International is a start-up environmental NGO working in both Canada and Tanzania. The communications coordinator will promote CFI’s environmental initiatives and communicate information including public outreach, education events, volunteer opportunities, youth outreach, restoration and tree planting events. The communications coordinator will be responsible for sharing information relating to all events and initiatives facilitated by CFI.

Duties:

  • Share CFI’s work both regionally and nationally through print and online media
  • Help to promote events, workshops and all organizational activities
  • Coordinate and recruit volunteers from the community
  • Coordinate social media campaigns
  • Provide general graphic design services
  • Maintain the organization’s website
  • Prepare press releases

Skills

  • Experience in environmental science, social science, geography, biology and international development.
  • Experience in communications
  • Strong written oral and communication skills
  • Web and social media experience
  • Graphic design experience
  • Ability to be self-directed as well as a team player
  • Ability to facilitate and organize volunteers and workshop participants
  • Strong organizational skills

All applicants must be registered in full-time in the previous academic year and must intend on returning to school full-time for the 2013-2014 academic year. Community Forests International encourages everyone to apply including those from traditionally underrepresented groups such as women, visible minorities and First Nations.

Wage: $12/hour, 35 hours/week

Number of weeks to be determined (ending August 31 2013)

To apply, please e-mail your resume and a brief covering letter to
jobs@forestsinternational.org

*or mail it to Community Forests International, 10 School Lane, Sackville, NB E4L 3J9
as soon as possible and not later than May 31, 2013.
No telephone calls, follow-up emails or agencies please.
Applicants must be legally entitled to work in Canada.

Volunteer Opportunity

by on May 8, 2013

Volunteer Opportunity – Moncton, N.B
May 16th – 10am
Hall’s Creek Marsh Revitalization

We need your help!

We are helping to restore an old gravel pit into a marsh wetland to restore the natural beauty and biological diversity within the City of Moncton.

On May 16th we are planting A LOT of native plants in the marsh - and many hands make light work!!

Please consider coming out and helping to restore the natural beauty within the city.

Email info@forestsinternational.org  or call 536-3738 for more information.

Plants of New Brunswick: Goldthread

by on January 31, 2013

Goldthread, Three-leafed Goldthread

Copis trifolia

 

Picture taken in Nova Scotia. Drisdelle 2012.

Another native plant to the Acadian Forest, this flower blooms in early June and is very small. It’s hard to find but you have probably seen this plant growing as a ground cover under the canopy. A little digging around reveals bright yellow roots (hence the name) that are small and travel far.

Medicinally this herb is used to cleanse and support the liver and blood. The root is very bitter and said to help relieve thirst. Something to think about the next time you’re lost in the woods.

This plant is threatened due to disappearing habitat; learn how to identify it and protect it on your land.

Plants of New Brunswick: Meadowsweet

by on January 24, 2013

Meadowsweet or Hard-hack

Spiraea alba

 

Another farmer’s enemy – this native plant can be hard to remove. However, close inspection reveals its beauty and its friends!

Contains salicylate – the active ingredient in aspirin. Aspirin’s name is derived from this plant as was the medicine. Meadowsweet is traditionally used for pain relief and as a restorative.

Plants of New Brunswick: Labrador Tea

by on January 23, 2013

Labrador Tea

Rhododendron groenlandicum

Sym. Ledum groenlandicum

 

Picture taken near Sackville, New Brunswick

 

A native wetland shrub growing in enclosed marshes and wetlands in the Acadian Forest.

This ‘tea’ was used by Native Americas as a diuretic, bad breath, diarrhea, infections, headaches and migraines. It was also used by early European settlers as a  black tea alternative. One should take care in identifying this in the wild, as similar plant species are toxic. Only small doses of this tea should be taken, as the Labrador Tea can be toxic in high doses.

Not to be confused with bog laurel (Kalmia microphylla).

Plants of New Brunswick: Bloodroot

by on January 22, 2013

Bloodroot

Sanguinaria canadensis

 

Taken in Sackville, New Brunswick

A rare native forest herb featured in CFI’s Food Forest Garden at the Sackville Community Garden. This plant flowers in the early spring, before the leaves have opened on the trees. This plant is known as a spring ephemeral, holding nutrients in the forest soil in the snow melts and heavy rains of the spring. It dies back just as the other forest plants wake up, releasing nutrients back into the forest ecosystem.

Plants of New Brunswick: Alder

by on January 21, 2013

Alder

Alnus spp.

 

This may be a farmer’s arch enemy – but Alder has countless ecological services. It is known as a pioneer plant, taking over old fields after grasses and smaller woody shrubs. It fixes nitrogen in the soil – the most limiting nutrient in plant growth. It shades the soil so that grasses struggle and trees can grow. It holds water, keeping land from flooding. Generations down the line we see a forest – many thanks to the Alder shrub.

Plants of New Brunswick: Bunchberry

by on January 17, 2013

Bunchberry

Cornus canadensis

 

Picture taken near Port Elgin, New Brunswick

Restoration Uses:

Bunchberry is a ground cover that grows under the forest canopy.  It’s a beautiful native herb for your food forest garden.

Bunchberry also accumulates Cu, Fe, K, Pb, Mn, Mg, P, Ca and Zn in its tissues, holding nutrients within the system preventing leaching. When the plants die back every year, some of these nutrients become available to other plants.

Garden Uses:

Berries edible. Roots – antispasmodic and antiseptic; Leaves – analgesic and cathartic; Fruits – capillary tonic, anti-inflammatory and antispasmodic.

# 15 Turn Problems into Solutions

by on January 2, 2013

Positive change rarely happens without a fight. Recognizing there is a problem is the first step toward finding a solution and the challenges we face now show us the need for better ways of interacting with one another and the planet. Shifting how we look at our problems is essential to finding new approaches to the difficult issues we are facing. Over the past month, we have had an opportunity to share some of the inspiring ideas that have impacted the way we approach our work. This is only a small segment of what is possible. Help us continue to expand our understanding by sending along your stories, insights and inspiring discoveries. We are always interested in learning new things and refining the way we interact with people and the planet. Let’s make 2013 a year filled with growing awareness and positive action. Happy New Year!
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