Traditional Trades Program - Landscape Stewardship Corps - Longfellow - Washington's Headquarters

Position: Traditional Trades Advancement Program - Landscape Stewardship Corps - Longfellow House - Washington's Headquarters
Summary

American Conservation Experience, a nonprofit Conservation Corps, in partnership with the National Park Service, is seeking two members to contribute to landscape stewardship and historic preservation projects at Longfellow House - Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site.

The Traditional Trades Advancement Program-Landscape Stewardship Corps is intended for enthusiastic individuals who possess an interest in gaining experience in the field of landscape preservation or horticulture. No education or experience in the field is necessary.

For more information about the National Park Service's Traditional Trades Advancement Program (TTAP) - Landscape Stewardship Corps, please visit our website.

For more information about ACE, please visit our website.

Start Date:

April 6, 2026

Estimated End Date:
October 9, 2026

* a 26-week minimum commitment is required
* Location Details/

Description:

Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site is in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a short walk from Harvard Square. The site preserves the remarkable Georgian house whose occupants shaped the nation. It was a site of colonial enslavement and community activism, George Washington's first long-term headquarters of the American Revolution, and the place where Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote his canon of 19th-century American literature.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Longfellow's oldest daughter, Alice, hired two female landscape architects, Martha Brookes Hutcheson and Ellen Biddle Shipman, to redesign the property's garden in the then-fashionable Colonial Revival style. This design remains today.

Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site is easily accessible by public transit, bike, and on-foot.

For more information about Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site please visit the NPS website.

Position Overview:

ACE members will work with Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site gardeners and dedicated volunteers to care for cultural landscapes throughout the park, including the Colonial Revival garden. Project work will include planting, pruning and trimming trees, turf management, and other horticultural practices as well as documenting the garden alongside the park's social media team to share the garden and historic landscape with remote visitors.

ACE members will also receive guidance from NPS staff with a wide range of skillsets to support job readiness and career exploration.

This individual placement is meant to facilitate professional development and promotes exposure to land management agencies and networking with professionals. This could include gaining experience in different conservation fields and shadowing different work groups.

Schedule:

The ACE member's daily schedule will adjust to account for seasonal changes:

April 6 - June 18 AND September 28 - October 9:
Monday-Friday work week: 7:00AM-3:30PM daily

June 21 - September 24:
Sunday-Thursday work week: 8:45AM-5:15PM on Sunday and 7:00AM-3:30PM on Monday-Thursday

Position Benefits

Living Allowance:
The ACE Member is expected to contribute ~40 hours/week and will receive a living allowance of $800/week to offset the costs of food and incidental expenses, dispersed bi-weekly.

Public Land Corps Hiring Authority:
Members serving under this agreement may be eligible for a federal hiring authority upon completion of their term of service and 640 hours of service. If the duration of a PLC-eligible term is not long enough for Members to accrue 640 hours of service (~16 weeks), the total hours served at the completion of the term may be eligible to be combined with hours accrued from another PLC-eligible term to meet the 640 hours requirement.

PLC projects also include specific eligibility requirements such as age (You must be between the ages of 16 and 30. Some agencies also interpret these guidelines to include veterans up to age 35) and citizenship. Please contact ACE staff with questions about eligibility or view general eligibility information on our website.

Housing:
Housing is the responsibility of the ACE member and not provided by ACE or the NPS.

Professional Development Stipend: $1,000 of professional development funds will be available to participants for pre-approved uses.

Provided Training/Orientation: ACE members will receive position-specific training and an orientation outlining ACE policies and procedures, clear guidance on prohibited activities, and networks for support. Specific trainings include OSHA-10 and Introduction to Preservation Horticulture.

Qualifications

Required:

* Members must be a U.S. citizen or Permanent Resident, as required by U.S. government contracts.

* Members must have a High School Diploma or GED.

* Members must be ages 18-30 (up to 35 if a U.S. veteran).

* Willing and able to represent ACE and the partner organization in a professional, positive, and enthusiastic manner.

* Ability to be both self-directed/work alone, and be a positive, contributing…