About

The Clean Water Ambassadors internship is a five-week paid summer program for Seattle-area high school students, run jointly by the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust and King County's Wastewater Treatment Division. Twelve interns are selected each year to spend July 7–August 7, 2026 learning about the environmental and civic systems that shape water quality in the Puget Sound region — and then teaching what they've learned to peers and community members. Interns earn $22 per hour working approximately 27 hours per week, Monday through Friday, meeting in downtown Seattle. Youth under 19 ride public transit free, making the commute accessible without a car.

The internship is deliberately communication-forward: a major component involves building public speaking skills through workshops, field trips, and a final presentation. Interns explore how government agencies, nonprofits, and communities interact around water issues, and graduates have the option to extend their involvement into the school year with independent community projects, compensated for up to 40 additional hours. No prior environmental experience is required, and the program explicitly encourages applicants from communities underrepresented in environmental careers. Applications are open April 1–22, 2026; no resume or cover letter is required, and roughly 30 applicants advance to a 30-minute online interview.