Habitat Restoration and Outdoor Education Fellow

Who We Are and What We Do

Save The Bay’s mission is to protect and restore the Bay for people and wildlife. We are the only regional organization that integrates political advocacy, wetland restoration, and education to shape a healthy and resilient region. We are a team of passionate, creative, strategic and collaborative people, dedicated to the urgent work of building Bay Area resilience and hope in the face of the escalating impacts of climate change.

Over two decades, Save The Bay has become a Bay Area leader in the science and practice of habitat restoration, focused on tidal marsh transition zone habitat at landscape-scale for recovery of endangered species, and for ecosystem resilience in the face of climate change. We enlist thousands of volunteers annually to restore the shoreline and educate Bay Area students to be the next generation of Bay stewards through hands-on experiential education and online learning.

Save The Bay’s Fellowship Program is a highly regarded and professional program delivering critical support to staff to ensure a thriving and healthy San Francisco Bay. Fellows actively contribute to the organization and receive hands-on experience and individual mentorship as team members of Save The Bay’s talented and passionate staff. This program is an excellent opportunity for professional development and offers insight into a non-profit sector career.

Position Summary

Save The Bay’s Habitat Restoration and Outdoor Education Fellows receive valuable exposure to skills in restoration ecology, environmental education, and community engagement. Restoration Fellows will gain experience in Save The Bay’s habitat restoration practices. Depending on the season and restoration contracts, these practices may include native plant propagation, invasive species removal, native seed collection, biodiversity monitoring, and innovative outplanting techniques. Fellows will become knowledgeable in the native flora and fauna as they travel around different restoration sites around the Bay. The Fellow also gains experience in environmental education and program design, helping our staff create content and lead programming for our Bay Discovery programs. The Fellow will train in as an outdoor educator, first co-teaching programs together with other team members, receiving mentorship and coaching from our team and eventually teaching programs on their own. In addition to fieldwork, the Fellow will spend time managing the team’s restoration project records and entering data from those records into Salesforce.

What environmental issues/problems will the work address?

Climate Change, Sea Level Rise, Habitat Restoration, Environmental Justice

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Support team in habitat restoration fieldwork: performing biodiversity monitoring, planting native plants and weeding invasive species at sites inaccessible to the public.
• Help with plant propagation tasks at Save The Bay’s nurseries, including seed sowing, transplanting, divisions, fertilization, culling, and nursery maintenance.
• Data entry into Salesforce weekly for monitoring and reporting our work.
• Train in and then teach environmental education programming for students from around the Bay Area.
• Help Education Program Manager develop environmental education curriculum.
• General administrative duties as assigned

Qualifications and Experience

• Interest in San Francisco Bay environmental issues and enthusiasm for Save The Bay’s mission and programs.
• Interest in gaining environmental education skills, including public speaking, NGSS science standards, Learning Cycle, theme-based teaching strategies.
• Ability and interest in working with a team to host groups of up to 100 people,
• Minimum commitment of 20-24 hours per week for 6-12 months
• Active participation and adherence to COVID-19 guidelines
• Ability and interest in working in the field with variable weather conditions.
• Strong writing, communication, and organizational skills
• Completion of at least two years of undergraduate education or relevant experience
• Knowledge of basic html, web-based tools, and software programs
• Ability to complete tasks independently and work well on a team.
• Ability to lift 40lbs repeatedly for specific field and nursery tasks.
• Clean background check

Position Logistics

• Fellows must have access to a car they can use to drive to work sites around the Bay (Oakland, Hayward, Menlo Park, Palo Alto, and Mountain View). Commute times may be up to three hours throughout the day but are considered part of the 8.5-hour workday. Fellows will be reimbursed for all transportation from their home to the work sites. Drive time from your home to the site and back is considered part of your workday. Sometimes, it will be possible to carpool with staff using work trucks (parked in Oakland or San Francisco garages).
• Current driver’s license is required.
• Clean background check is required.
• Must be available to work Tuesdays. Must be available to work two out of three days Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Availability to work occasional Saturdays to support weekend programs.

Location

16 hours per week will be in the field. Save The Bay has work sites around the Bay (Oakland, Hayward, Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and Mountain View) and the fellow will have the opportunity to work at all these sites. 4-8 hours per week will be remote work, conducted from your home office, or, once per month at our office in Oakland for our All-Staff Meeting.

Reports To

Education Program Manager

Compensation and Benefits

Fellowships are temporary positions that require a commitment of 6 months and can be extended up to 12 months total. These are part-time (20-24 hours/week) positions and are compensated at $20/hour. We offer a stipend for working remotely and funds for home office workstation equipment and furniture, a field gear stipend, and travel reimbursement covering up to 100 miles of travel to fieldwork sites per workday. Fellows accrue sick hours based on number of hours worked, with 1 hour of sick accrued for every 22 hours worked and an accrual cap of 72 hours. Access to a Save The Bay work truck and/or carpooling arrangements may be available depending on location and scheduling.

Work Environment and Values

We welcome people of all cultural backgrounds, gender expression and sexual orientation to apply and thrive with our growing team. Save The Bay is an equal opportunity employer that strives to recruit a diverse workforce and provide an equitable, and inclusive workplace for all. We strongly encourage Black, Indigenous, and People of Color to apply.

Hiring Timeline

The priority deadline for applications is November 16, 2026

We would like to make an offer by mid/late December.

Preferred start time is early January.

How To Apply

This position is open until filled. To apply, please email a cover letter and resume to jobs@savesfbay.org. Please make sure to include the position title Habitat Restoration and Outdoor Education Fellow in the subject line. In the body of the email, please share where you found this job listing.