Mel Fellowship Program
Mel Fellowship Program
The Maryland Forestry Foundation is pleased to offer four annual Fellowships to Maryland college students in the amount of $10,000 per Fellowship.
Made possible by an annual grant from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the Fellowship program is intended to encourage students to pursue careers in Natural Resources and to help them matriculate in a Natural Resources-related field of study.
The Fellowship program is named after Mel Noland, one of the state's preeminent citizen leaders in forestry and the Chesapeake Bay who championed sustainable forestry practices across the state and worked tirelessly with the Forestry Boards to support forestry education efforts and the establishment of school forests on all school campuses. Mel was named an honorary Admiral of the Chesapeake by Governor Martin O'Malley in 2009, the highest award the Governor can give to a private citizen.
The responsibilities of the Fellowship are listed below, a main one being to act as an ambassador of either the Natural Resources Careers Camp or of various Urban Forestry programs and initiatives. In travels and meetings across the state, students will be introduced to a wide range of industry, government and nonprofit professionals, making important contacts for future job searches.
Fellowship applications and letters of recommendation must be submitted online - a pdf of the application can be downloaded here if you want to preview what information is required.
Mel Fellowship Positions Announcement
- Natural Resources Careers
- Urban & Community Forestry
Timeline:
- Application process opens: May 15, 2023
- Application deadline: July 15, 2023
- Decision announcement: July 30, 2023
- Fellowship term: October 1, 2023 - July 31, 2024
Mel Fellowship Application Details
Applications must be submitted online (Apply Now!) accompanied by a resume. Two online letters of recommendation must be received by the July 15 deadline.
Requirements: Applicant must be a Maryland resident and a college student currently enrolled in a natural resources field of study. Expectations are that fellowship activities will require roughly 5 hrs/wk and may include travel to Annapolis, to locations around the state and possibly to conferences across the US. However, most work can be carried out from your home base.
Two Letters of Recommendation must be submitted online. One from a faculty member in a natural resources field who verifies the student's enrollment in the college and speaks to the student's career interest and their ability to manage a fellowship workload in addition to their academic program. The 2nd letter should be from any other non-family member who can speak to the personal motivation and character of the applicant and their ability to work independently with initiative. Note: Inform your references which Fellowship program you are applying to - they are required to know.
Expectations: The primary goal of the Fellowship is to help a student successfully graduate in a Natural Resources field of study. Beyond that, specific Fellowship expectations are found in Appendix A for Natural Resources Careers and in Appendix B for Urban & Community Forestry. A final report must be submitted listing accomplishments and suggestions for how to improve the Fellowship program.
Remuneration: $10,000 total stipend, paid out monthly, based on mutually agreed upon goals and deliverables. The Fellowship payments are intended to offset the cost of college and will not be considered taxable income if the student's tuition and books/fees equal or exceed the Fellowship payments in each fiscal year. The estimated timing of payments will be $3,000 in 2023 and $7,000 in 2024.
Application Instructions
Read Appendix A & B to decide upon which Fellowship program is of interest to you.
Complete the Application online, attach your Resume and have your two chosen references fill in our online Letter of Recommendation form. All submissions should be submitted by July 15, 2023.
An acknowledgement of receipt will be sent to the student. If you experience any problems with the application process, please email us at balinski.dawn@gmail.com.
A pdf application questions for you to preview can be downloaded here.
Appendix A
Expectations
for the
Natural Resources Careers Fellowship
October 1, 2023 - July 31, 2024
- Primary goal of the Fellowship
- Successful matriculation in your degree program
- Promotional goals
- Promotion of careers within Natural Resources fields by sharing your educational experiences, work experiences and future career plans with students around the state
- Promotion of the Fellowship program within your university and to similarly situated students for recruitment of future applicants
- Efforts on behalf of the Natural Resources Careers Camp
- Become familiar with NRCC (https://marylandforestryfoundation.org/index.cfm?event=nrcc), attend monthly committee Zoom meetings and visit camp during week of July 21-27, 2024 to speak with students and meet NRCC staff and industry participants
- Assist in the promotion of the camp through social media and online marketing
- Work with partners to increase visibility of the camp and recruitment of students: local Forestry Boards, Maryland Forest Service, industry partners and the Green School program
- Support mission of Maryland Forestry Foundation
- Conduct research on forest policy, forest landowner incentive initiatives and other topics pertinent to the legislative efforts of Foundation staff
- Promote and provide input to Foundation webinar and other events
- Attend bi-annual Forestry Board Association meetings
- Attend relevant conferences if possible
- Assist in conceptualizing and planning a summit meeting to bring together the two industries of Rural/Traditional Forestry and Urban Forestry
- Submit 3 blogs to be posted on the Foundation website
- Reporting duties
- Submit a Final report listing your Fellowship accomplishments and suggestions for how we can improve the Fellowship program
- Regular phone and email communication with Foundation staff and partners
Note: Not all items listed above will be a part of an individual's set of assigned efforts. The Foundation will work with the student to develop a reasonable plan of expected outcomes.
Appendix B
Expectations
for the
Urban & Community Forestry Fellowship
October 1, 2023 - July 31, 2024
- Primary goal of the Fellowship
- Successful matriculation in your degree program
- Promotional goals
- Promotion of careers within Natural Resources fields by sharing your educational experiences, work experiences and future career plans with students around the state
- Promotion of the Fellowship program within your university and to similarly situated students for recruitment of future applicants
- Efforts on behalf of the Maryland Urban & Community Forestry committee
(MUCFC)
- Attend quarterly MUCFC meetings to assist with grant reviews and the PLANT recognition award program (dnr.maryland.gov/forests/Pages/programs/urban/mcfc.aspx)
- Assist in the promotion of MUCFC and its grant and other outreach programs
- Support mission of Maryland Forestry Foundation
- Conduct research on forest policy, forest landowner incentive initiatives and other topics pertinent to the legislative efforts of Foundation staff
- Promote and provide input to Foundation webinar and other events
- Attend bi-annual Forestry Board Association meetings
- Attend relevant conferences if possible
- Submit 3 blogs to be posted on the Foundation website
- Efforts on behalf of the Urban Forestry Careers Camp
- Assist in the development of a curriculum for the Urban Forestry Careers Camp as well as with the planning and launching of the camp
- Provide input on promotion of the camp and on recruitment of students
- Work with partners to increase visibility of the camp: local municipalities, universities, Forestry Boards, Maryland Forest Service and industry partners
- Reporting and meeting duties
- Submit a Final report listing your Fellowship accomplishments and suggestions for how we can improve the Fellowship program
- Regular phone and email communication with Foundation staff and partners when appropriate
Note: Not all items listed above will be a part of an individual's set of assigned efforts. The Foundation will work with the student to develop a reasonable plan of expected outcomes.