Employer: Smokey House Center

Location: Danby, VT

Status: 40 hours/week, 10 weeks

Application deadline: December 11th, 2025.

Full position description and application instructions

Position Summary 

The Future Foresters Apprenticeship (FFA) will provide passionate young forestry professionals with an opportunity to build their skills and expand their knowledge in the beautiful real-world setting that is Smokey House’s 5,000 acre property. Participants will spend 10 weeks working and learning in a diversity of forested settings across the property, covering topics ranging from basic field skills training, climate adaptive maple production, forest farming, forest inventory, local wood utilization, silvopasture, invasive species management, and much more. The curriculum is designed to not only provide great learning opportunities, but to do so in a context where participants’ efforts will be contributing to real work with a meaningful impact on the future health of our forests and our communities. Participants will form a cohort of six that spend the summer living communally and working collaboratively for 10 weeks on site. There will be ample opportunities to work alongside both Smokey House staff and regional partners.

Required Qualifications & Attributes

• Academic and field experience in forestry. Should be familiar with forest inventory methods and plant identification in Northern Hardwoods. Experience in related fields or other regions can be transferable.
• Strong interest in climate adaptive forest management strategies and forest ecology.
• Interest in collaborative problem-solving and working with a team.
• Ability to work full days in the woods and walk several miles over steep terrain.
• Ability to identify and communicate your own needs and to look out for others.