Monitoring Methods Fellow

Starting: September 16th

Commitment: roughly 15-20 hours/week (200 hours over approx. 8-12 weeks)

Fellowship Stipend: $2,500

Where: This fellowship is open to anyone located in the United States

About Public Lab

Public Lab is a community, supported by a 501(c)(3) non-profit, that develops and applies open-source tools to environmental exploration and investigation. By democratizing inexpensive and accessible do-it-yourself techniques, Public Lab creates a collaborative network of practitioners who actively reimagine the human relationship with the environment.

About the Fellowship

This Fellowship is part of the Oil & Gas Water Fellows Trio and is an opportunity to research and document water monitoring methods used by people to collect evidence on the environmental impacts of the oil & gas industry.

The major goals of this Fellowship are

1.) To research and post documentation on Public Lab on methods used by watershed groups, watchdog groups, states, universities, and individuals to organize and advocate for improvements on water quality issues in areas affected by the oil & gas industry.

2.) To connect with individuals who do this type of monitoring, conduct interviews, and document their stories and experiences related to this work on PublicLab.org.

3.) To work in collaboration with the Hardware and Community Fellows to draft and compile materials for a "Research Area Review" on water quality monitoring on PublicLab.org.

You will:

• Identify methods used by water quality monitoring groups who are working in states with oil & gas extraction issues.
• Draft research note documentation on PublicLab.org detailing use cases for specific methods people use for water quality monitoring.
• Interview, compile, and share monitoring and advocacy stories on PublicLab.org from people who have used water monitoring methods related to oil & gas concerns.
• Develop a wiki page that highlights the different ways that people do water quality monitoring and design advocacy campaigns, in a way that helps someone choose one approach over another.
• Identify ways for people with concerns around water quality to get started in monitoring.
• Engage the Public Lab community in-person and remote on questions and resources related to methods used in water quality monitoring.
• Support the work of the other Oil & Gas Water Fellows by helping to match concerns communities share around contamination to study designs, and monitoring tools that could be appropriate to use.
• Work with the Hardware and Community Fellows to run a "Research Area Review" for water quality monitoring, including soliciting input from peer groups on the state of water quality monitoring, updating documentation on PublicLab.org related to current water quality monitoring methods available through the Public Lab store, seed and help answer questions for others to help answer on water quality monitoring, and organize and participate in an OpenHour interactive seminar on the state of water quality monitoring in relation to oil and gas concerns.
• Join the Public Lab Oil & Gas Slack channel.
• When possible, attend a weekly Fellows call or check in with weekly project updates.
• Maintain and adhere to nonprofit policies and procedures, Public Lab values, and the Code of Conduct.

This role may be for you if you are:

• Detail oriented: You have excellent interviewing and documentation skills; An exceptional written and oral communicator: You have excellent interpersonal skills - you're a collaborator and a problem-solver who is often praised for your organization and attention to detail.
• Team oriented: You work collaboratively, both in-person and with remote colleagues, to envision and promote positive change, and to be supportive of others.
• A helper who includes everyone: You've worked with people with different backgrounds, and different fields and experiences; you're able to communicate on environmental science and monitoring in a way that's approachable and understandable to newcomers.
• Tech savvy: You thrive in an online environment; you are excited to learn new programs and share about technology and monitoring in the context of advocacy.

This Fellowship will be hosted through Public Lab. Public Lab is committed to a diverse, multicultural work environment. We encourage people with different ability sets, people of color, and people of diverse sexual orientations, gender expressions, and identities to apply.

To Apply Send a resume and the answers to the questions below in a single document to jobs@publiclab.org by August 29th. **Please specify which fellowship you are applying for in the subject line of your email. No phone calls, please.

1.) Why are you interested in this Fellowship? What about working on this issue intrigues you?

2.) How would your experiences benefit your work as a Fellow?

3.) If awarded the Fellowship, what would you hope to learn, and what would you hope to accomplish?