Teen Conservation Leadership Program
Are you a teen who’s ready to turn your passion for the environment into meaningful action? If so, the Teen Conservation Leadership Program is for you! You’ll connect with like-minded peers, develop leadership skills, meet career experts and help aquatic ecosystems in Chicago and the animals that depend on them.
Learn more about this exciting, paid job opportunity for teens and how to apply.
Teen Conservation Leadership Program
Are you a teen who’s ready to turn your passion for the environment into meaningful action? If so, the Teen Conservation Leadership Program is for you! You’ll connect with like-minded peers, develop leadership skills, meet career experts and help aquatic ecosystems in Chicago and the animals that depend on them.
Learn more about this exciting, paid job opportunity for teens and how to apply.
About the Teen Conservation Leadership Program
Youth are the future stewards of our shared blue planet. Through the Teen Conservation Leadership Program, teens will be empowered as the next generation of conservation leaders, transforming their passion into the skills and purpose needed to shape a more sustainable future.
As part of this paid program, teens will:
- Build conservation and career skills by collaborating on a project to address challenges facing our local waterways
- Participate in stewardship activities at Chicagoland nature sites
- Learn about local aquatic wildlife at Shedd
- Connect with career experts to further their understanding of these vital ecosystems.
Teens will then take a solutions-focused approach to educate others, advocate for and act on behalf of Chicago’s aquatic ecosystems. The program will end with a youth environmental summit planned for and implemented by the teens, where they’ll invite other youth, community and conservation experts to attend.
Want to Join?
If you’re a teen who has never participated in a teen program at Shedd, or a teen who has participated in a prior season of Teen Council, Teen Work Study or Shedd’s After School Matters Teen Internship programs, you are eligible to apply for the teen role.
If you’re a teen who has participated in a prior season of the Teen Council Board, Teen Work Study or Shedd’s After School Matters Teen Internship programs, you are eligible to apply for the senior teen role.
-
Applicants must be enrolled in high school at the time of the program (a minimum of 15 years old). If you are 15 years old, a work permit is required to be hired for the program.
-
Yes, the Teen Conservation Leadership Program is a professional, paid work experience.
Teen Role Pay Rate: $17.05 per hour —In alignment with the City of Chicago Minimum Wage Ordinance, this is a subsidized temporary youth employment program, and therefore the pay rate will be $17.05 per hour.
Senior Role Pay Rate: $17.50 per hour —In alignment with the City of Chicago Minimum Wage Ordinance, this is a subsidized temporary youth employment program, and therefore the pay rate will be $17.50 per hour.
-
Your attendance for orientation on Saturday, September 19 is required. Your attendance for each of the program scheduled Saturdays is also required, but we know that your schedules are busy and things come up. We are allotting up to four (4) absences and will only make exceptions for extenuating circumstances. Please only apply if you can commit to the orientation date and most of the program working days.
-
If you are already a paid staff member at Shedd Aquarium, you will not be eligible to participate in the Teen Conservation Leadership program.
-
The Teen Conservation Leadership program takes place on Saturdays, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. from September 19, 2026 – May 1, 2027, which is outlined in the one-pager document. There will not be shifts on Oct. 31, Nov. 28, Dec. 26, Jan. 2, Jan. 16 and March 27.
All shifts for this program, including orientations and trainings, are paid. You will only be paid for the dates that you work.
-
We are looking for teens from Chicago who have a passion for conservation, sustainability, facilitating/teaching others about these topics, advancing and advocating for solutions to conservation issues, a desire to learn and a desire to improve the environment and world around them.
For the Senior Teen Conservation Leadership staff role, we are looking for applicants who can provide guidance, leadership and support to fellow teens.
Accessibility
At Shedd Aquarium, we believe there should be no boundaries to your experience. If you have an accommodation request related to a disability, please contact us at [email protected] or call 312-939-2438. We look forward to assisting you.