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

Molly Barlow

Molly interned at Arid Recovery for the intensive kowari monitoring after they were released on the reserve in 2022. She supported Ecologist Genevieve Hayes with daily radiotracking to record survival and habitat use of the new kowaris, checking cameras to monitor progress of mother kowaris raising young at their dens, and regular trapping to check the collar fit and health of animals. Molly came back to Arid Recovery in 2023 on a contract to monitor and manage rabbit incursions, conduct fence checks and assist on ecological surveys. She is now undertaking a PhD at the University of Adelaide understanding drivers of decline for kowaris, including studying the new population at Arid Recovery.

Harrison Talarico

Harry joined Arid Recovery in February 2022, starting his internship with the annual pitfall trapping survey. He stayed on into late 2022 picking up contract work on the Commonwealth Safe Haven project. This involved intensive work with the team preparing the reserve for the reintroduction of kowaris, including clearing feral cats, reducing rabbit populations and preparing fencing and soft release pens. He was delighted to join the team that collected kowaris from the wild population in far northeastern South Australia, and was part of the intensive weeks of tracking the kowaris we released as they settled in.

Courtney Proctor

Courtney commenced a three month internship with Arid Recovery in February 2019. She had previously completed a Bachelor of Science (Animal Behaviour) at Flinders University. Whilst at Arid Recovery Courtney was able to experience many different elements of the conservation and research program. Courtney spent majority of her time helping the team complete various jobs around the reserve including radio-tracking quolls, trapping bettongs and monitoring stick-nest rat populations using camera traps. Her favourite experiences included participating in the annual pitfall trapping and bettong trapping surveys. Courtney is now a Environmental Scientist for BHP. 

Anna Rogers

Anna commenced a two month internship with Arid Recovery in November 2018. She split her time between two projects; the western quoll reintroduction program and the UNSW prey naivety experiment, where she was heavily involved in radio-tracking both quolls and bettongs. Prior to joining Arid Recovery, Anna completed a Bachelor of Science majoring in Animal Science at the University of Adelaide. She has now returned to UoA to complete her Honours, where she is studying the effectiveness of audio-lures in Felixer traps.

Kaely Kreger

Kaely began an internship at Arid Recovery in the winter of 2018. Originating from Tasmania and accustomed to cold, damp conditions, she found even the winter in this new environment unusually hot and dry. Before the internship, she worked as a park ranger and completed an Honours degree in Biological Science at the University of Tasmania, with a thesis on the historical biogeography of the metallic snow skink. Her research involved analyzing skink DNA to understand ecological changes over the past 35 thousand years. After the internship, Kaely explored the Ikara-Flinders Ranges before returning to Tasmania, where she engaged in fauna consulting.

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