TLDR: Hiring undergrad research assistants to help me survey gardeners in SF about how they feel about birds and nature. Flexible, mostly weekend work, transportation required. No previous experience necessary! Write me if you are interested with a brief description of your experience and availability.

Position name: Gardener survey assistant
Hours: Flexible and variable, likely 4-6 hours/day, 1-2 days/week. Oct-Nov, Dec possible
Compensation: Research credit in Biology or Sustainability, or pay ($17/hr, student pay scale level 1). Flexible for other types of compensation (providing letters certifying hours, etc). Funding is available specifically for undergraduate students, but position is open to all.
Location: San Francisco, CA (transportation provided)

Project description:
We are studying human/bird interactions in 20 community gardens in San Francisco, California. Specifically, we are interested in people’s attitudes towards different bird species, and whether people are coming into contact with birds they have positive or negative attitudes towards. The aim of this project is to understand how interactions with bird species change in gardens in neighborhoods with different income levels, and whether richer or poorer gardeners are having more positive nature experiences in gardens. In this component of the project, we are surveying gardeners about their attitudes towards garden nature and specific bird species.

Job description:
This role will be to assist the PhD student project leader in surveying gardeners in person in gardens in San Francisco. The exact schedule will be variable and flexible, but will probably entail surveying gardeners in person at gardens 1-3 days/week, likely mostly weekends with occasional weekday excursions. Surveying will likely take 2-4 hours (with an extra 2 hours of commuting). Transportation will be provided, or if assistants prefer to transport themselves mileage can be reimbursed. Because of the variable nature, assistants do not need to be available for all survey dates.
Surveyors will complete a mandatory training, after which they will accompany PhD student to gardens in San Francisco and independently administer surveys to gardeners. The PhD student will be onsite to advise, but assistant will be expected to independently approach and interact with gardeners. COVID safety protocols will be followed
Requirements:
• Be available to survey on weekends (not all weekends, but job will frequently be on weekend days)
• Be able to attend surveyor training
• Be excited to interact with community gardeners and chat about birds and nature
• Ability to follow protocol and work semi-independently from supervisor
• Bonus: Language skills are a huge plus, we are especially looking for assistants who can speak Spanish and Cantonese! But this is not a requirement!

If you are interested, please write to Kelley Langhans (langhans@stanford.edu) as soon as possible with a brief statement of interest including: 1) Why you’re interested in being involved in the project 2) Your availability fall quarter and 3) Any relevant skills or experience you’d like to share. If you have a CV or resume, please attach it as well, but it is not required! We’ll begin reviewing applications immediately but highly encourage applications after this date as well. This is a great role for someone interested in participating in research for the first time, so we encourage everyone to apply!