Beginning the last month, everyone had a change of scenery with a new partner or new set of survey sites. The job continues smoothly and without many surprises, except for the unusual characters we sometimes run into at the parks. For our conservation projects we went back to the Kansas University Medicinal/Community Garden to check on Raven’s plot. There we helped with weeding & watering and got to leave with some fresh veggies. The second week, we coordinated with a team of Army Corps of Engineer Rangers and Wildlife and Park interns at Clinton Lake to make fish habitats. First, the crew worked to cut down cedars. These were brought onto a boat and wired to cement blocks. They were sunk into the river to provide habitat for growing fish populations. It was a rewarding experience, but this was definitely a challenging day because the tasks were particularly arduous. We learned a lot about how they manage and control the fish populations. We especially enjoyed the chance to get out on the water and interact with other interns for this conservation project.
Now back in the house, we have started thinking about our final project. We have thrown out some ideas for what we could do like making instructional videos for the Army Corps of Engineers or (if we are feeling adventurous) possibly directing a music video. We are still planning conservations projects for the rest of the summer. Hopefully we will be able to make it back to Clinton to help with the fish habitats again. We are also making arrangements for mass clean-up of the house, because there are only three short weeks left until we go our separate ways.
