First State National Historical Park Trail Stewards Training – VISTA Summer Associate -AmeriCorps

 

 

Position Title:  Trail Stewards Training Program – VISTA Summer Associate

Conservation Legacy Program: Stewards Individual Placement

Site Location:

First State National Historical Park

10 Market Street, New Castle, DE 19720

Terms of Service:


* Start Date: 6/1/2026


* End Date: 8/9/2026


* AmeriCorps Slot Classification: 300 hours (Minimum-Time)

Purpose:


* This project supports poverty alleviation by building long-term capacity for the park’s volunteer program, which creates accessible pathways for community member to gain skills, experience, and connections in the outdoor field.  By strengthening systems that expand engagement across New Castle, the project increases the park’s ability to offer inclusive, skill-building programs that empower local residents over time.


* The project builds capacity for the park by creating a comprehensive training plan for on boarding new Trail Steward Volunteers that expand the park’s ability to reach more volunteers and have a consistent on boarding process without increasing staff workload, aligning with strategies that strengthen long term outreach and program sustainability.


* The Summer VISTA will support First State National Historical Park’s Trail Steward Program, a volunteer initiative that assists with maintaining the park’s 27 miles of trails and administrative road.

Working alongside park staff—including maintenance, facilities, and volunteer management teams—the VISTA will develop a formalized volunteer onboarding and training plan to strengthen program consistency, safety, and long-term sustainability.   The VISTA will complete this work at First State National Historical Park, primarily at the Brandywine Valley unit, where most Trail Steward activities occur.

The position is scheduled for the summer term, during which the volunteer program is most active.

By developing clear, accessible training processes and tools, the VISTA will help ensure that new volunteers can safely and confidently participate in trail maintenance, support stewardship projects, and contribute to the park’s mission of preserving natural and cultural resources.

This project is essential because it builds long-term capacity for the park—creating standardized systems, improving volunteer readiness, and enabling staff to manage a growing volunteer corps more efficiently and effectively.

 

Description of Duties:

The Summer Associate will focus on capacity-building activities that produce internal planning resources, documentation tools, and community engagement materials.

Duties may include compiling labor market research summaries, developing workforce resource inventories, creating community asset maps, organizing environmental data sets, drafting partnership coordination frameworks, designing planning templates and resource guides, and assisting with public-facing informational workshops, outreach campaigns, or site observations.

Activities are designed to ...