Turn a Problem Into a Solution

BioChar Innovation Project Leader

Description

The best environmental projects don't just study problems—they build solutions.

The Green Crew is seeking 4–6 motivated youth leaders to join our BioChar Innovation Team, a year-long environmental leadership opportunity focused on transforming environmental challenges into measurable solutions.

This is not a typical volunteer position.

As a BioChar Innovation Project Leader, you'll help lead one of the Green Crew's most innovative conservation initiatives. Working alongside fellow youth leaders and conservation mentors, you'll help transform invasive buckthorn into biochar, deploy biochar in water-quality improvement projects, and collect real-world data to determine whether the approach works.

This project combines environmental science, engineering, leadership, restoration, and data analysis into a single hands-on experience.

You'll help build and operate a real environmental field experiment while generating meaningful data that can guide future conservation efforts.

Your Mission

As a BioChar Innovation Project Leader, you will:

• Lead volunteers during project workdays and field activities
• Help produce biochar from invasive buckthorn removed from local ecosystems
• Assist with operation of biochar production systems and equipment
• Deploy biochar in water-quality testing and demonstration projects
• Collect environmental monitoring data
• Help organize, manage, and interpret project results
• Contribute to project planning and future innovation efforts
• Present findings and recommendations to the Green Crew and community partners

Why You'll Love It

• Learn how environmental innovations move from ideas to real-world testing
• Gain hands-on experience in environmental science, engineering, and water quality
• Build leadership skills by coordinating volunteers and project activities
• Collect and analyze meaningful environmental data
• Work on a project unlike anything offered by most schools or youth programs
• Build experience that stands out on college applications, scholarship applications, and resumes
• Join a team of youth leaders tackling real environmental challenges

You'll Be a Great Fit If...

• You enjoy solving problems
• You're curious about science, engineering, or environmental issues
• You like building, testing, and improving ideas
• You're interested in leadership and teamwork
• You want to make a measurable difference in your community
• You enjoy seeing ideas turn into action

Commitment

Project Leaders serve for approximately 12 months and are expected to participate in one to two Sundays per month, along with occasional leadership meetings, training opportunities, and project events.

What Success Looks Like

By the end of your term, you'll be able to say:

"I helped design, operate, and evaluate a real-world environmental innovation project. Our team transformed invasive buckthorn into biochar, deployed it in water-quality applications, and generated verifiable data to determine whether the approach could become a scalable environmental solution."

About the Green Crew

The Green Crew is an award-winning, youth-led conservation and environmental leadership program based in Bloomington, Minnesota. Youth leaders design and lead projects that restore habitats, improve water quality, conduct scientific research, test innovative solutions, and inspire the next generation of environmental stewards.

Only 4–6 BioChar Innovation Project Leaders will be selected each year.