Native Plants Program Coordinator

Program Mission and/ or Goals:

Founded in 2000, CRCL’s Native Plants Program (NPP), leads our efforts to restore Louisiana’s coastal habitats by engaging volunteers and stakeholders to be a part of the solution. Our partnerships and events facilitate environmental stewardship by Louisiana industries, landowners, business leaders, residents and visitors. The NPP provides valuable educational experiences for its volunteers. Participants learn about our coastal land loss crisis, its main causes and the various solutions being implemented across the entire Louisiana coast. Since its creation, the NPP has engaged more than 15,000 volunteers and directly restored more than 4,500 acres of coastal wetlands in Louisiana. 

Member Position Summary:

The Native Plants Program (NPP) Coordinator will work closely with the Native Plants Program Manager to support ongoing ecological restoration work in the field and at CRCL’s Restoration Headquarters in Violet, Louisiana (St. Bernard Parish). This work includes essential preparations for upcoming planting events, as well as supporting the oyster shell recycling and reef build events, educational tours and field trips, tabling opportunities and monitoring and maintenance activities at restoration project sites. The NPP Coordinator will also be essential in refining nursery operations with regards to growing wetland trees from seed, and marsh grasses for future restoration projects. This will require creative problem solving, time management, a high level of organization and project planning. The Native Plants Program Coordinator will be a functional member of CRCL’s Restoration Krewe, a team of engaged members working together to execute 30 to 50 volunteer events per year. Workdays will involve an array of office and field responsibilities, including frequent field days directing and supervising volunteers of varying experience levels in remote locations across coastal Louisiana. This position will require a flexible schedule and some work on weekends. 

Member Impact:

In the short term Serve LA member will add capacity to CRCL’s team by providing additional support at 30-50 restoration workdays a year, serving as volunteer supervisors to allow us to host 10 more volunteers per Serve LA member, thus restoring larger areas of sensitive coastline, and diversifying the experiences and types of restoration projects we can offer. They will be expected to maintain existing data tracking systems for ongoing projects regarding implementation and project success afterwards. Our collective long-term goal will be to maximize the experience, impact and attendance of restoration events across Louisiana. As we broaden the geographical reach of our restoration programs, this team will educate and empower a growing legion of coastal advocates working collectively towards a thriving, sustainable Louisiana coast. The NPP Coordinator will support the development of new restoration headquarters in Lafayette and Lake Charles through standardizing nursery operations, and creatively problem solving to support implementation. 

Essential Functions of Position:

• Maintenance of native plant nursery to ensure healthy production of plants for restoration projects (standing, walking, squatting, carrying, lifting) 
• Support of volunteer work days at restoration plantings, oyster shell baggings, outreach tablings, etc.. to raise awareness around the need for coastal restoration in Louisiana (standing, walking, squatting, carrying, lifting) 
• Monitoring of past restoration projects to communicate project success to the public and funders (standing, walking, carrying) 
• Data entry and analysis to ensure high quality science for future learning and external communications 
• Support the external communications in the form of public reports, website development and maintenance, public presentations, etc.. to engage the public

Skills, knowledge and trainings the corps member should expect to gain from this position

• First aid training
• Advocacy and Community Engagement Training
• Volunteer Management  
• Coastal and Environmental Science knowledge
• Event Coordination Management  
• Networking opportunities, such as Coastal Day at the state Capitol and State of the coast Conference 2025
• Field work experience, public speaking skills
• DEIJ training opportunities
• We also encourage members to identify opportunities to enroll in workshops of interest – such as Master Naturalists.

Ideal Candidate Qualifications

• Strong interest in horticulture, coastal restoration, community engagement and science communication. 
• Working knowledge of the coastal land loss crisis of coastal Louisiana and restoration efforts. 
• Comfortable working in a public-facing role. 
• Willingness to speak in front of a group and lead activities. 
• Personable and able to work with volunteers of varying ages, diverse backgrounds and differing physical abilities. 
• Willingness to work in remote wetland ecosystems with frequent exposure to hot and humid weather conditions. 
• Working knowledge of Arc GIS, the coastal land loss crisis of coastal Louisiana and restoration efforts  
• Experience with fieldwork in a coastal environment is preferred. 
• Familiarity and experience with Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, particularly excel) 
• Enthusiasm for physically demanding work outdoors in various weather/site conditions 
• Independent and self-motivated, with leadership and communication skills 
• Comfortable working in office, remote, and field work settings 
• Ability to work atypical hours and weekends, and occasional overnight travel 
• This role does not require a college degree.
• Applicant strongly encouraged to possess valid driver’s license, safe driving record and personal automobile. 

Location: New Orleans, hybrid, up to 3 days a week in-office and as needed for events

Deadline: June 3, 2024

Applications: visit https://www.crcl.org/employment-opportunities/ to learn more