Internship Program

HWF Interns

Care to join us?

Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund is always looking for driven individuals to join us in our efforts to protect native wildlife. However, we must offer you the disclaimer that travel to Hawaiʻi is still complicated and has become more expensive (lodging and car rentals and food) as the island of Maui is still recovering from the catastrophic fires in Lāhainā. We suggest you carefully evaluate the travel logistics before you commit to our programs and let the travel issues guide your decision whether to come here or not. Here is one site with some insights that may help: Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority

We have year-round opportunities to participate in our programs. They include sea turtle projects and the Hawaiʻi Wildlife Discovery Center environmental education activities on Maui, and marine debris cleanups and estuary restoration workdays on Hawaiʻi Island. On our website you can find links to the various projects our volunteers and interns help out with. Although we work closely with our native species, our approach is to observe, educate and conserve as opposed to handling and interacting.

Ready to Spend a Week, or a Month, Doing Hands-on Field Work?

Maui

Our rich internship program allows people of all ages to immerse themselves in island life and culture while making a positive change in the natural world. Tailored for the needs of the intern, our Maui internships extend from one week to more than a month and can include scholastic credit or community-service options. Every year interns from across the globe work with us on projects that protect native wildlife, remove marine debris from beaches and restore native habitat.

Hawai‘i Island

Select college and graduate-level internship opportunities are also available on Hawai‘i Island based on current resources, team capacity and project needs.  Priority is given to local residents or those with existing connections to Hawaiʻi. These opportunities are generally focused on more directed studies related to marine debris (removal, accumulation, prevention), anchialine ecosystems (research, restoration), dry-forest / coastal strand plant communities, and other research projects related to our fieldwork in Ka‘ū.  For example, HWF has hosted interns through the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo’s Tropical Conservation Biology & Environmental Science master’s graduate program and their undergraduate Marine Option Program for the past several years.  Hawaiʻi Island summer internships are FULL / closed for 2024, and we are currently only accepting applications for the upcoming school year / summer of 2025.

Please contact us for more info for either island.  Students can also earn credit for high school, college and community service programs while volunteering with HWF.

Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund Internship Program