I guess I forgot to mention in my first post a little bit about myself. I am twenty years old and a senior at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, NY. I am an Environmental Studies major with a double minor in Geoscience and Latin American Studies. I play Division III tennis for William Smith. I came to the SCA to find a new and exciting internship, something outside the office just like what so many other people want. Interestingly, I think I found it.
But, before I accepted the position at RCNWR, I was also looking at places all across the country. I applied to refuges and national parks in Cape Cod, South Carolina, Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, and about ten other places. What really roped me into Rachel Carson was my boss, Ward Feurt’s description about what a special place it is here. He talked about how down to Earth everyone is and that we all worked for one common goal: to protect wildlife. We aren’t working for personal gain; we are working so that we can make a difference.
This is why I love the Rachel Carson Refuge. I feel like I’m really doing something that will help wildlife. An added bonus is that I actually get to do it from outside the office too! I’m not sure if I’m just bad at sitting for too long, but whatever the case, I don’t know if I could last five days a week sitting. Here, that never happens. Just this past week, I was sitting at my desk when a small crew was going out to extend some electric fencing before the holiday weekend. I jumped on that. I got to set up fencing for a few hours on the beach, while watching Piping plover and Tern Chicks. What gets better than that?
During the afternoon I was able to go out to a marsh and cut and collect Phragmites, an invasive plant in Maine. It grows very quick so it constantly needs to be cut down and hopefully when the stalks are low enough to the ground, the salty tide water can kill it. It is a labor intensive job, but I get to be outside and enjoy the nice weather.
Every day, I learn something new and fascinating. I really feel like I belong here. This internship is giving me the opportunity to experience “real like jobs” which I could potentially embark on as a career.
This week there is a lot going on so I’ll keep you all posted and add some pictures too!
