Conservation Internship

Launch your ecological career with a hands-on Conservation Internship with Arid Recovery and the Australian Land Conservation Alliance

Arid Recovery has partnered with the Australian Land Conservation Alliance (ALCA) to pilot a new Conservation Internship in 2026. We are seeking an early-career ecologist (Honours or equivalent experience) for a three-month, full-time paid internship based at our 123-km² arid-zone reserve near Roxby Downs. Working alongside an experienced multidisciplinary team, the intern will contribute to the delivery of ecological research, field surveys and data analysis supporting threatened-species recovery and arid land conservation. The role also offers exposure to stakeholder and community engagement and science communication within a small, innovative conservation NGO, as part of ALCA’s broader conservation internship initiative.

• Location: Olympic Dam, South Australia

• Dates: 9th Febuary - 8th May 2026

• Application close: 14th December 2025

Bringing your own car for travel to and from the office and, as well as for personal use during the internship, is highly recommended. Successful candidates must be willing to comply with government directives and internal workplace requirements for managing the impact of COVID-19.

How to apply

Apply via the ALCA Environmental Internships website

Please upload:

• A CV (maximum 3 pages), and.
• A cover letter (maximum 2 pages) addressing the selection criteria and application questions.

Past Interns

Charlotte Hogan

Charlotte made significant contributions to the team during a period of understaffing at Arid Recovery. She helped organise the 27th annual trapping event and successfully radio-tracked a quoll that had infiltrated the quoll-free Main Exclosure. Charlotte spearheaded the establishment of an extensive insect database, a pioneering initiative in our long-standing practice of collecting invertebrates during our annual trapping. One of her favourite achievments while at Arid Recovery was the relocation of a western quoll to the northern Flinders Rangers. Charlotte is now embarking on a fellowship with the Smithsonian in Panama.

Ben Reay

Ben joined us from Sydney via the Flinders Rangers where he had spent time helping to monitor the reintroduced population of western quolls in Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park. He helped with running the launch event for the Kokatha Pastoral and Arid Recovery partnership, as well as the annual visit by our Board of Directors and Scientific Advisory Panel. Ben worked with Ecologist Genevieve Hayes to collect data for annual vegetation quadrat monitoring at an important moment for recording recovery from the 2018-20 drought. Ben went on to work on reintroduction project for red-tailed phascogales with the SA Department for Environment and Water.

Victoria Love

Tori interned with Arid Recovery between May and August 2023. Between studying her degree, she exercised her passion for science communication by producing the University of Adelaide's Biology Society podcast. Great at talking with people from all walks of life, and with some outback hospitality experience, Tori made a wonderful contribution to Arid Recovery's community programs. This included the sunset tours, an open day with record attendance and preparation for a major event launching the new partnership between Arid Recovery and Kokatha Pastoral. Tori was immediately employed on completing her internship, taking up a role as a Community Landscape Officer for the SA Arid Landscapes Board where we still have the pleasure of connecting with her in the region.

Emma Randle

Emma joined Arid Recovery for the annual small vertebrate piftall survey and stayed through the peak of record-breaking cat activity experienced in April 2023. She helped to survey for signs of cat incursions and to manage perimeter traps during this busy time keeping the Arid Recovery Reserve secure from predators. Emma now works in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara lands supporting Aboriginal ranger teams and communities looking after Country in the remote northwest of South Australia.

Jack Bilby

Jack Bilby was selected for Arid Recovery's first graduate position. He had completed his Bachelor of Science with Honours at Flinders University, studying the reintroduction of western quolls to the Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park. He joined Arid Recovery for seven months to focus on climate change adaptation research, intending to study use of soaks as a drought relief measure. He had to pivot however after large rainfall events, and instead worked on understanding vegetation recovery post-drought, including repeating a seed bank study from 15 years prior, collecting data from the long-term monitoring set and exploring remote sensing for monitoring vegetation.

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