2012 ELC Internship Portfolio

Warren Wilson College

Portfolio of Experience

Environmental Leadership Center Internship Program 2012

Intern Will Stroud, The Nature Conservancy, Outer Banks

ELC Internship Program

In the 1970’s, environmentalism was primarily the purview of scientists focused on solving what were seen as environmental problems. Studies published on the consequences of a degraded environment were leveraged to create the broad sweeping legislation of the National Environmental Policy Act, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, and others. The science community showed clearly that the industrialization of the nation was taking its toll.

As we moved into the 1980’s and 90’s, accelerated globalization fundamentally broadened the environmental debate. Access to global resources pushed aggressive development deep into every continent. Social and economic thinkers and activists joined the chorus of environmentalists demanding change as environmental degradation became clearly connected to social injustices and economic inequities worldwide. The concept of sustainability emerged to create a framework in which global resource extraction and industrialization could continue while environmental and social integrity was sustained.

At the beginning of this new century, it has become clear that neither the environment, societies, nor economies sustain, but undergo continuous change. The issues of climate change, biodiversity loss, poverty, population growth and resource scarcity are showing us just how dramatic these changes can be. What we need now are systems that are resilient; ones that are capable of adapting to dramatic change, durable enough to resist and recover from significant stresses— environmental, social or economic—and that recognize the environment as the source of life on this planet.

Environmental Leadership Center Internship Program provides Warren Wilson students with opportunities to engage deeply with organizations working to build resilient systems. From engaging in the work of the Audubon Society’s Project Puffin reestablishing nearly extinct eastern North American puffin colonies, to Asheville City’s Sustainability Office working to reduce municipal greenhouse gas emissions, and CooperRiis Healing Farm using nature and the arts to help adults cope with mental illness, our interns forge life-long commitments to environmental and social responsibility and pathways to real-world careers. For these students, who engage each day in Warren Wilson’s unique liberal arts model of academics, work and service, internships integrate this Triad learning with real-world work. Whether focused upon the economic, cultural, or scientific aspects of environmental and social issues, students work with mentors to learn first-hand that these complex challenges require interdisciplinary solutions. They come to understand the scope of work and the degree of commitment required to create adaptable and durable systems in a changing world.

Environmental Leadership Center Environmental leadership is woven into the fabric of Warren Wilson, grounded in the College’s rich history of place and purpose. Since 1996, the College’s Environmental Leadership Center (ELC) has served to raise awareness of local, national, and global environmental realities and to inspire caring citizens—especially our youth—to reflect, to communicate and to act as responsible caretakers of the earth. The ELC’s programs weave through the College’s Triad of academics, work and service that provides students with a holistic experiential education unique to higher education.

To learn more, visit warren-wilson.edu/~elc/ or contact the program coordinators Ellen Querin at querin@warrenwilson.edu, 828.771.3006 or Stan Cross at scross@warrenwilson.edu, 828.771.3782.

Your support enables Warren Wilson students to experience the Triad of academics, work and service and to prepare for careers that will benefit our communities and our world.

If you have questions about making a gift to support the Environmental Leadership Center’s Internship Program or the College’s annual fund, contact Dustin Rhodes at drhodes@warren-wilson.edu, 828.771.2088.

Warren Wilson College PO Box 9000 Asheville, NC 28815-9000 www.warren-wilson.edu

Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project Intern Kimberly Worthington

On a stroll through campus you are bound to see at least twenty “Local Food” stickers, and around Asheville, you’ll note how many shop doors sport an “Appalachian Grown” sticker. Every one of these stickers represents a connection between farmers and their community, between an economy and its community, between individuals of a city. That is Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP) at work!

ASAP is divided into a variety of working teams. The Growing Minds division was my internship home and is where the national Farm to School program is being implemented. I was the organizer and facilitator of the Kids Corner Market located at the downtown Asheville City Market. Every Saturday morning, I would set up the display table with scavenger hunts, a bundle of local food guides for kids, local food bumper stickers and books for parents and children. My favorite part was making connections with the families that attended the market each week.

When in the office, I organized bundles of files, absorbing flashes of gardening lessons, farm-to-school workshop notes, community flyers and much, much more. One day I called over fifty school dieticians to gather information on food distributors and the availability of local products to school cafeterias. One of my favorite tasks was to update and freshen the Growing Minds website book list. On the Growing Minds website are lesson plans, cooking recipes and educational resources for educators across the world.

The immense exposure I had to people, food and the community prepared me to further explore an infinite number of careers. I, first handedly, witnessed the inner workings of a small, successful nonprofit. By working with ASAP, I learned that it doesn’t take a ton of people to make an impact, but it does require passion, commitment and an endless supply of smiles. It takes people of all different backgrounds, each with knowledge different from their neighbor. And it calls for an underlying desire to work toward the same goal.

“By working with ASAP, I learned that it doesn’t take a ton of people to make an impact, but it does require passion, commitment and an endless supply of smiles.”

Ashevillage Institute Intern Ariel Burns

Ashevillage Institute is an urban permaculture demonstration site located south of Asheville. It promotes localized and integrated living systems honoring all forms of life and is dedicated to sustainable solutions. As a nonprofit residential site, it is home to a team of experts who coordinate specialists to the site in the form of work trade or by leading workshops.

As the urban permaculture intern garden manager, I was responsible for the maintenance of the gardens. Tasks included weeding, planting, transplanting, harvesting and processing of foods and medicines. I also worked on trail maintenance both in the formal garden and the woods. I assisted with other projects such as the construction of a soldier fly larvae composter, redesign of the aquaponics greenhouse and the reconstruction of a canal system. I was heavily involved in two workshops: the Wise Water Management Workshop and the WASI Natural Building Workshop.

It was through the latter workshop that I experienced my full potential within my internship. I was exposed to natural construction techniques such as wall systems, roofing, foundations, passive solar design, earthen plasters and finishes. I am now more confident and competent in natural building design and implementation. I made lasting friendships with the participants and instructors and look forward to implementing plans of my own.

Through the WASI Natural Building Workshop, I was able to integrate deeper learning regarding the significance of my contributions this summer. It was not until the last two weeks that I synthesized my experiences into a cogent lesson: everybody deserves the right to healthy shelter, food and water; more importantly, we all deserve the right to allocate those resources within a community. I am integrating all of my learning into my life slowly but steadily by taking the time to process my internship experiences and determine where my passions truly lie as I continue to fine-tune my value system.

“I was exposed to natural construction techniques such as wall systems, roofing, foundations, passive solar design, earthen plasters and finishes. I am now more confident and competent in natural building design and implementation.�

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Dr. John Wilson Community Garden Intern Trey Cochran

Intern Truman Turner

Dr. John Wilson, who sought to fulfill his dream of providing healthy fresh food to the community, founded the Black Mountain Community Garden. The garden beds are organized as A-D, with beds in A-C leased to individuals, while the D beds are taken care of by volunteers. Individuals rent a garden plot for a season with access to the compost and tools.

Ten percent of the garden is donated to the community.

As an assistant garden manager, I was in charge of the D beds and spent time harvesting, weeding, planting, watering and shaping the beds. I also assisted plot owners, coordinated volunteer groups, reorganized the garden barn and rebuilt the garden shed. We also visited other gardens to gain a better understanding of how they provide for their communities.

A very powerful experience in interacting with the community was working with the Welcome Table program. Every Wednesday St. Episcopal Church hosted an access meal to families. Our garden distributed produce to the church to use in preparing the meal. Families of all income levels enjoyed a healthy meal together with the option of making a donation.

I had time to research and create a proposal of integrating chickens into the garden.

My vision is that the garden can diversify by raising chickens to provide a sustainable egg production, natural services such as tilling the garden beds, pest control and educating the community on how to raise chickens holistically. Several people have already asked how they can help with making this project come to fruition.

When I started the internship, I had little knowledge about gardening or even which vegetables are grown in which season. I came to understand companion planting, cover crops and other beneficial relationships.

I quickly built my understanding of the functions of the garden.

I feel confident that I developed skills to run my own garden someday and hopefully expand that dream to my own farm.

During the summer of 2012, I was awarded an internship at the Dr. John Wilson Community Garden in Black Mountain. Formerly known as the Black Mountain Community Garden, it was renamed after its proprietor, Dr. John Wilson, a devoted philanthropist and renowned pediatrician. The current garden is located on the west side of Black Mountain and continues Dr. Wilson’s mission of philanthropy with much of the garden produce going to donation. The garden is divided into four quadrants with one quadrant, the most northern quadrant, devoted entirely to donation.

As an intern, my duties revolved around maintaining the donation bed. Responsibilities included making compost, applying compost and amendments, working soil, planting, weeding, fertilizing and harvesting produce. Much of my “hard” skills were learned and refined through this work. Our supervisor helped prioritize the broad range of tasks and gave tips on ergonomics and why we did things in a particular way. Along with this sort of “hard skills” maintenance, “soft skills” included leading and organizing groups of volunteers weekly.

I gained a lot working with a K-6 summer camp group. I was responsible for educating them about the garden and supervising their work. This proved to be a much bigger challenge than I anticipated. Holding their attention for two hours was not easy. After some struggling and guidance, I am now more prepared to handle similar situations.

Overall this internship was a huge learning experience because I had not worked on so many independent projects before. I took on more than I could handle, made good headway and certainly understand my abilities much better. I went into this internship seeking to nail down my “hard” skills in the garden. The “soft” skills involved in my internship really moved to the front in my experience rather unexpectedly. I continue to be inspired to see such a successful project rely so heavily on volunteer labor and now have a fresh perspective on the power of education.

“When I started the internship, I had little knowledge about gardening or even which vegetables are grown in which season. I came to understand companion planting, cover crops and other beneficial relationships.”

“I continue to be inspired to see such a successful project rely so heavily on volunteer labor and now have a fresh perspective on the power of education.”

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City of Asheville Office of Sustainability Intern Barnaby Ohrstrom

As an intern with the City of Asheville’s Office of Sustainability, I worked in the areas of energy analysis, energy coordination (management and policy), and sustainability outreach.

Every day was different and my supervisors identified new learning opportunities constantly.

Typically, I would start the day with data entry focusing on electricity and natural gas consumption or surveys focusing on fuel use; later in the day, I would focus on policy or outreach.

One of my most marked deliverables was organizing and managing a major sustainability conference for the Southeast Sustainability Directors Network. I captured all the logistical information, made the necessary arrangements, ensured the conference ran smoothly, took photographs and delivered follow-up reports. The result was a smooth conference and a great kick-off for the network. It was a unique opportunity and one of my best memories during the internship.

The internship provided me with a different context for understanding sustainability.

Working within a municipality exposed me to the challenges that policy makers face when incorporating sustainability into the culture. It was fascinating to see how much resistance existed, and I developed an appreciation for how vital ethos change is in implementing environmental practices. I also learned about the structure of policy making and the feasibility of pushing for new policies. It’s not possible to start a new sustainability initiative without the ultimate backing of the people.

The internship experience was invaluable because of the nature of the work. It might sound silly, but being in an environment surrounded by like-minded people was very empowering. I was lucky to make a number of contacts and get to know many of my peers.

As a result, I am more invested in networking with peers in the field; I am also looking for volunteer opportunities to expand my network. It is clear that learning from others is much faster than self-learning, and maintaining ties can put me on the fast track to discovering where to look for work involving sustainability.

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“The internship provided me with a different context for understanding sustainability. Working within a municipality exposed me to the challenges that policy makers face when incorporating sustainability into the culture.”

City of Asheville Transit Services Intern Nathan Gower

The City of Asheville’s Transportation Department is divided into two categories, a garage which oversees operations of the bus network, and an office of engineers and planners responsible for the funding and execution of new transit initiatives. In 2009, Asheville City Council approved the Transit Master Plan (TMP), a planning document intended to improve on-time performance and frequency of travel in the fixed-route bus network. The initial changes include a redesign of routes, implementation of transfer points, the purchase of several hybrid-electric buses as well as the development of a new brand identity.

I began my internship roughly two weeks into implementation of the first phase of the TMP. I was primarily responsible for researching best practices in providing ADA paratransit and changing Asheville’s existing ADA paratransit service to better reflect these best practices. Given the slow pace at which projects are executed through municipal governments, often as a result of funding, I was largely responsible for laying the foundation for cost-reducing and qualitative improvements of future paratransit service initiatives. Generally, I worked on projects independently but also supported time-sensitive projects when requested. Additionally, I included thousands of rider comments into a spreadsheet, organized them into categories and codified the results to be presented before the Asheville Transit Commission.

My most substantial achievement was the development of new application and inquiry forms, which better reflect best practices, and an informative rider’s guide to be distributed to people with disabilities at clinics and rehabilitative institutions. I compiled pages of relevant excerpts from various policies, legislation and court cases in order to better inform future practices and allow future interns to begin where I left off.

I came away from this internship with a better understanding of my skills. I realized my strengths as a researcher and began to grasp how my understanding of politics, policy and political institutions can be applied in the working world after college.

“I came away from this internship with a better understanding of my skills. I realized my strengths as a researcher and began to grasp how my understanding of politics, policy and political institutions can be applied in the working world after college.”

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Audubon Seabird Restoration Project Intern Alex Guyton

Project Puffin, a seabird restoration program, was started to bring the Atlantic puffins back to the coast of Maine. In addition to puffins, Project Puffin works with common, arctic and roseate terns. My job was to monitor and manage the seabird populations, collect data and help with island maintenance.

Several days a week I would wake before the sun rose and head into a blind. As the sun would start to rise, the puffins would wake and begin fishing for their young. We watched and recorded what they were eating, fish size, and how often they were feeding. The rest of the day was spent entering data, weighing, measuring and banding the birds.

The first time I banded a bird was nerve-wracking. The tern chick was half the size of my palm, and I was afraid that I would break its leg with the pliers used to close the band. I could not get the band closed and needed assistance. Eventually, I learned the birds were not as fragile as I initially thought and I just needed to squeeze the pliers harder. Having the opportunity to handle these tiny yet strong creatures was truly amazing.

At the start of the summer, I was embarrassed by how little I knew about birds and the fact that I could barely tell the difference between the terns. One of my proudest moments was toward the end of the season when another intern asked me to identify some shorebirds. I felt confident and was excited that another intern saw me as knowledgeable and capable to identify birds that she could not.

This summer I fell in love with fieldwork. Before Project Puffin I knew little about fieldwork and the opportunities available. I believe that experiential learning is the best kind of learning. I don’t know what my future will look like, but I know that somewhere along the way I will work with birds again.

“This summer I fell in love with fieldwork. Before Project Puffin I knew little about fieldwork and the opportunities available. I believe that experiential learning is the best kind of learning.�

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Intern Austin Patton

In summer 2012 I interned with the National Audubon Society to work with Project Puffin. The intention of the project was to reestablish nesting colonies for Atlantic Puffins.

The project now supervises nesting sea bird colonies on seven islands within the Gulf of Maine; I traveled to four of these islands.

Stratton Island hosts an active heronry as well as tern colonies. I conducted a small research project investigating the use of woven plastic fiber landscaping carpets, which had been placed to reclaim nesting habitat. We were interested in seeing whether terns were using these carpets. I mapped all nests laid on the carpets and those within two feet of them. It was while conducting this work that I fell in love with terns. While in the colony, terns would make every attempt to discourage me from nearing their nest by dive-bombing and pecking the highest part of my body repeatedly and sometimes dousing me with guano. Though many might find this unpleasant, I found it extremely endearing. Their nests meant so much that they had no inhibitions and would throw themselves into harm’s way to protect their nest and their young.

My final destination, Seal Island National Wildlife Refuge, was a true puffin colony.

While there, I conducted puffin-feeding stints using my digital camera. Without the aid of digital photography, it is nearly impossible to identify all the fish brought in during a puffin feeding. To complement the feeding stints, we also “grubbed” puffin chicks for banding and measurement. Grubbing refers to the practice of extracting chicks from their burrows, often by placing yourself headfirst between two or more jagged boulders. It took days of complete frustration and lack of success before I pulled my first chick out of a burrow. When I did, it was suddenly all worth it. The satisfaction of pulling out an adorable little puffin chick is simply beyond comparison.

“It took days of complete frustration and lack of success before I pulled my first chick out of a burrow. When I did, it was suddenly all worth it. The satisfaction of pulling out an adorable little puffin chick is simply beyond comparison.”

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CooperRiis Healing Farm Community Intern Mitch Albers

“I can say with confidence that I have finally identified the population in which I wish to work with in the future.

I am going to pursue my graduate education in clinical mental health.”

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CooperRiis, a healing farm community, was created to pave the way for a new managed healthcare dichotomy shifting towards relationship-centered care focusing on the whole individual. Each resident has the choice of working with one of the following five life skills groups: woodshop, garden/farm, kitchen/dinning, animal barn or campus maintenance.

I was assigned to work in the woodshop. By ten o’clock on day one, we started to build a new pole barn for the farm. I was pleasantly surprised how smooth the transition into the work was, and I must say that I was a perfect fit for the position. The nine weeks I spent working in the woodshop and the amount of work and projects completed seems unbelievable looking back. Our work varied between minor repair work to designing and constructing a fifty-four foot long pole barn, animal shelters, storage cabinets, laundry bins and a traditional sweat lodge. We also crafted traditional drums and flutes, installed fencing, repaired welds on farm equipment and much more. In fact, I learned and built some things that I had no experience with at Warren Wilson, or would have ever had the opportunity to do.

Now that my time at CooperRiis has come to an end, and the experience has had some time to fully sink in, I can say with confidence that I have finally identified the population in which I wish to work with in the future. I am going to pursue my graduate education in clinical mental health.

The experience has not only identified my future line of study and work but also taught me a lot about living in community and how to be a good community member/citizen. I am now more mindful of my actions and how I interact with others on a day-to-day basis, always looking for the positive aspects of others and making sure to give thanks where it is due.

Intern Regina Cherene

CooperRiis is a residential rehabilitation center for adults with mental illness or emotional distress. Each resident has a team of specialists, including a therapist, a nutrition specialist and a life coach, and residents participate in a work program.

When I first arrived at CooperRiis, I worked with the Animal Crew. After a month, I switched to the Campus Crew. While on Animal Crew, we had a list of daily chores, such as feeding animals, letting animals out of their enclosures and collecting eggs. If chores were completed early, there was always thistle chopping, fence painting, stall mucking or barn cleaning. My time with the Campus Crew was divided between cleaning and support. After cleaning the residential lodges, I spent time with residents; I talked with them, played games or made crafts, all the time offering support.

The more meaningful successes were measured in the improvement of well being of the people I worked with. I did my best to engage residents who had a tendency to hole up.

Spending time one evening walking around with a resident—it was little moments like this that kept me encouraged and reassured that I was making a difference. Another success was the creative writing group that I facilitated for several weeks. I personally invited residents, and we gathered around a table. We laughed, we talked and we scribbled furiously. It was incredibly heartening to hear residents say that they were inspired and to see them express excitement about what they were working on.

With the nature of the work, results aren’t always obvious, but I was fortunate to have several residents express their gratitude before I left and tell me how I had made a difference.

Gentleness, calmness in the face of crisis, approachability and availability for support—these are assets that I learned I have and that made a positive difference in residents’ experiences.

“Gentleness, calmness in the face of crisis, approachability and availability for support—these are assets that I learned I have and that made a positive difference in residents’ experiences.”

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French Broad Riverkeeper Intern Molly Everett

“This internship provided a greater understanding about how powerful community can be when trying to reach common goals. My experience taught me about the importance of sustaining our natural resources like watersheds and forests.”

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Over the summer, I had the amazing opportunity to work with the French Broad Riverkeeper. The Riverkeeper position is part of a larger organization known as Waterkeeper Alliance that was started in 1999 to support local grassroots organizations in their efforts to protect our natural resources.

The very first week, I was thrust into an annual project, the French Broad River Paddle Trail. The nine-day trip down the French Broad raises awareness about water quality. I played a major part in making the trip run smoothly, including unpacking and repacking the vans, setting up camp, and occasionally cooking dinner and breakfast. This project took up a majority of my internship because after the trip, campsites required maintenance, structures needed building, and websites had to be updated. Other assignments were the bacteria monitoring project and the Muddy Water Watch Program. All of the projects were very different, but each provided a great opportunity to see how we, as a community, can make a difference in protecting our streams and waterways.

One of my biggest accomplishments was facilitating the paddle trip for over 30 people.

It was challenging at first, but it got easier with practice and became a lot of fun once I got to know the people I was working with. Another accomplishment was fine-tuning the online map delineating campsites, put-in and take out’s, rapids and dams located along the length of the paddle trail. There was a plethora of details that needed to be noted, as this information would be available to the public.

This internship provided a greater understanding about how powerful community can be when trying to reach common goals. My experience taught me about the importance of sustaining our natural resources like watersheds and forests. It was an amazing experience.

I was hoping for more in-depth science research opportunities, but I’m very glad for this opportunity to get a taste of the jobs out there after graduation.

Georgia Interfaith Power and Light Intern Andrew Hardverger

My summer assignment was to intern in Georgia Interfaith Power and Light’s office in Decatur, Georgia. Georgia Interfaith Power and Light (GIPL) engages communities of faith in stewardship of creation and is one of thirty-eight sister state affiliates of the National Interfaith Power and Light.

The two major work accomplishments were the success of the Misíon Verde camp and my report on how to connect with Georgia’s Jewish congregations. Annually GIPL takes a group of kids from church partners to Amicalola Falls State Park to hike up Springer Mountain and stay at the Len Foote Hike Inn. From prior experience in environmental education work, I included bonding and eco-learning activities in the itinerary, while the two other adult trip leaders planned devotions for each day. Indeed the camp was a lot of fun.

Afterward, several ideas came to me on how to make this program even better, and I wrote a summary on what worked, what did not, and how to improve it.

During my last weeks, I was asked to expand GIPL’s outreach to Jewish congregations since I am Jewish. Their programs are intended to be universal, but the language appeals more strongly to Protestant congregations. They needed a policy on how to expand the clientele. I developed a spreadsheet listing all congregations in the state by faith; region; whether GIPL had interacted with them before, and if so, over what, and several other important items.

I spent the summer away from my comfort zone but became more secure and learned how to interact with people of all walks of life, including wealthy, educated professionals; homeless people; people of all colors and faiths; and people of strong views, opposing view or unaware of their views. In a similar sense, I realized how essential it is to know a lot of people when fundraising. Fundraising is friend raising. Being able to talk to people and to connect with their friends is key to successful nonprofit fundraising.

“I spent the summer away from my comfort zone but became more secure and learned how to interact with people of all walks of life.”

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Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont Intern Paige Tester

The Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont is a rare place. Unlike most environmental education centers, Tremont, a nonprofit residential learning center, is located within the boundaries of a national park. Because of its location, the Institute is in an ideal setting for learning about the natural world. During the summer, the Institute hosts weeklong environmental education camps, and I was specifically involved in the Discovery Camps for nine-to twelve-year-old children, the Smoky Mountains Science Teacher Institute Camp and the Family Camp.

I was one of three environmental education interns, and our schedules were packed with activities and tasks, making the days go by quickly. I had many duties, including observing teaching methods, supervising youth, co-leading hikes, creating and implementing environmental education lessons, leading activities and giving basic first aid. We were given time to observe other educators, allowing us to learn from others and ease into our roles. I was continuously pushed to get out of my comfort zone. In the beginning, I found myself feeling extremely shy. As the internship progressed, I became confident in talking with large crowds and learned how to channel my passion for the environment and how to share that passion.

My accomplishments included learning some basic trail maintenance techniques, being able to identify new organisms, learning to use a wood splitter, putting together a professional portfolio of my summer, having children tell me that they liked my nature club and later hearing them share information that I had taught them, having my coworkers bring me types of lichens because they knew I was interested in it, discovering a bear trapped in a wild hog cage and reporting it to a wildlife biologist, and singing an old Appalachian ballad that brought a lady to tears. My biggest accomplishment this summer was discovering more about myself. I realized that perhaps I do not know exactly what I want to do with my life, but I now have a more realistic path to follow.

“As the internship progressed, I became confident in talking with large crowds and learned how to channel my passion for the environment and how to share that passion.�

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Great Smoky Mountains National Park Appalachian Highlands Science Learning Center Intern Rachel Cairatti I learned this summer the National Park Service lives and breathes the Organic Act of 1916.

I interned with the hope of being able to understand how they use the practices outlined in the act to fulfill their goal of preserving the land, air, water, history, flora and fauna. My duties included creating, writing and facilitating a Junior Ranger Program, facilitating a Stream Splashers program, mentoring a high school intern, data collection and bird banding. With the goals for the summer, I set out on one of the most thrilling, astonishing, challenging and life-changing experiences.

I had the opportunity to create and facilitate my own program and decided to focus on salamanders, or “sallies.” I took that responsibility on as my project, creating an original lesson plan specific to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park salamander population. At first, it was a challenge to come up with an idea for a lesson plan. I hit the ground running by researching, reading books from the park library, and talking with park experts. The amount of time and effort put into my program was half the fun because I had great resources. I couldn’t stop collecting information and knowledge. The amount of knowledge accumulated in such a short amount of time intrigued me.

Coming out on the other side of my internship of a lifetime, I have grown in more ways than I can share. I fulfilled the goal of strengthening my park knowledge, the natural aspects that encompass it, and the growth of both work and personal relationships. I found a passion for salamanders in the Salamander Capital of the World and experienced a career path that has changed my life. The place where watching elk graze in the field at dusk is a nightly activity; the place where learning about your environment present, past and future is in the job description—all the while wearing green and grey—I have found my home.

“I fulfilled the goal of strengthening my park knowledge, the natural aspects that encompass it, and the growth of both work and personal relationships.”

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Just Economics Intern Emma Topor

“In terms of my career, this internship reinforced the fact that I would love to work for a nonprofit aligned with my interest. In terms of citizenship, this internship has given me the opportunity to think about my role in supporting a sustainable economy,�

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Just Economics promotes, educates and advocates for a just and sustainable economy in Western North Carolina. This is fulfilled by engagement with the private sector through the Living Wage Certification Program, policy advocacy and community education and leadership development, the area where I allocated most of my time.

There are multiple programs within community education and leadership development; I worked specifically with three projects. The first related to poverty simulation, an experiential learning program to demonstrate what life is really like to live on a low income in both Buncombe and Transylvania Counties. I updated numbers used in the simulation to reflect data in the living income standards. I also researched the costs for alternative transportation in the Asheville area and created a series of consequences that reflected the disadvantages of reliance upon public transportation.

The next project related to Just Economics’ Voices for Economic Justice Workshop. This eight-week workshop targets low-wage and low-income people and seeks to empower them to educate the community at large on issues of economic justice.

The final project was new to Just Economics, a story bank reflecting how Just Economics has affected the community at large. After contacting business owners and employees, former Voices for Economic Justice participants and Asheville City Council members, I recorded interviews with those community members who had agreed to be interviewed. This process was valuable in learning about the interview process itself, but it also gave me a greater understanding of the deep involvement of Just Economics in Western North Carolina.

In terms of my career, this internship reinforced the fact that I would love to work for a nonprofit aligned with my interest. In terms of citizenship, this internship has given me the opportunity to think about my role in supporting a sustainable economy, how I can support Living Wage Certified businesses on a student budget, and how I can still stay involved with this organization.

Montreat Conference Center Intern Jessica Howard

My time spent as a Montreat Conference Center Outdoor Education Ranger was exactly what I needed, and I believe what the conference center needed.

The first half of the summer, my outdoor education and ranger position was split evenly.

Mondays was spent with the rangers, a group of seven, working in the forest to fight erosion and maintain the trails. We laid down check dams running perpendicular to the trails to catch sediment. Water bars were laid at an angle, channeling water off the trails. Tuesdays consisted of teaching two lessons to the juniors and junior highs. Each lesson was 2.5 hours and we would meet at various locations around Montreat. Lessons included fire building, cooking in the backcountry, tarp set up, survival shelters and nature. I had a planning period for the first half of the day on Wednesdays; in the second half I had a lesson with the senior highs. Thursdays were dedicated to leading public hikes, which were free and open to all ages.

Fridays were devoted to trail maintenance.

I feel I had the best success at creating an experience for the children that was engaging, fun and full of learning opportunities. The outdoor education at Montreat had a poor reputation as being boring and was not something worth attending. The first day I worked with the kids, they also expressed their disinterest in the program. I asked them what they wanted to learn and catered two lessons to what they wanted—survival shelters and nature.

A long-term club participant told me the lesson with fire building was the best ever, and I received the compliment, “best ranger ever.”

I would not be as prepared for life after college had I not gotten the opportunity to be an outdoor education ranger. This internship is one of many examples of how Warren Wilson College prepares you holistically for the future.

“I feel I had the best success at creating an experience for the children that was engaging, fun and full of learning opportunities. This internship is one of many examples of how Warren Wilson College prepares you holistically for the future.”

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The Nature Conservancy, Long Island Intern Silvia LaPorta

“My academic pursuits, my growth as a citizen and my career ambitions have all been profoundly changed by my internship experience. Luckily, my work this summer solidified that conservation is indeed the field that I would like to enter.”

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During the summer of 2012, I worked with the Long Island chapter of the Nature Conservancy as the conservation steward intern. I was assigned to the Conservation Lands and Coastal and Marine team and assisted with piping plover and least tern monitoring and management and shellfish (clams, oysters and scallops) monitoring.

No two days were alike; however, every week followed a rough format. Every Monday and Wednesday we would load a truck with metal stakes, the “post-pounder,” green twine, binoculars, “caution, federally endangered species” signs and a notebook to monitor piping plover and least tern nesting activity. The work consisted of walking the entire length of the beach, looking through binoculars to watch for plovers and terns. New nests would be fenced and signs posted to warn beach-goers to stay out of the enclosed area. I carefully recorded observations and converted notes to forms for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Despite our efforts, 2012 was a poor year for piping plovers and least terns; of the twenty eggs laid, only two survived into fledglings.

Towards the end of my internship, I helped the coastal and marine team with the annual hard clam survey. In the morning, we boarded a barge equipped with a large crane and a device to sort through bay-bottom debris. Using a GPS, we arrived at predetermined points where the crane would scoop two buckets of bay-bottom debris, which was then dumped into a large strainer. We would carefully comb through the strainer seeking live hard clams, which were measured and weighed, recorded and then released. Other days were filled with trimming brambles alongside trails, roofing map kiosks at trailheads, weed whacking fields or installing new signs at preserves.

My academic pursuits, my growth as a citizen and my career ambitions have all been profoundly changed by my internship experience. Luckily, my work this summer solidified that conservation is indeed the field that I would like to enter.

The Nature Conservancy, Outer Banks Intern Will Stroud

The Nature Conservancy received a grant to establish a unique climate adaptation project aimed at protecting maritime forest and pocosin swamp habitats within Nags Head Woods Nature Preserve and Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. As sea levels rise, these vitally important habitats are likely to start disappearing under water, and the species that live within these habitats are likely to perish.

When the project first began, around 5,000 cypress, black gum and pond pine trees were planted at Point Peter, a freshly burned pocosin swamp. My main job was to survey the pre-established transects and to assess the overall survival rate of the trees planted at Point Peter. In addition to this project, my fellow intern and I calibrated and placed water quality monitors, transplanted submerged aquatic vegetation, planted wax myrtles and native grasses and surveyed reptile and amphibian populations on the preserve. Because of the large variety of tasks we were given and the extraordinary amount of freedom we were given to accomplish those tasks, we were able to learn a great deal about restoration ecology.

Throughout my internship I participated in many projects that, once completed, produced visible results. The data I collected will help decide which trees to plant and where to plant them. The water quality monitors will be in place for six months to a year, helping researchers understand the complicated process of saltwater intrusion and how it will affect the refuge, now and into the future. I was also able to help fellow interns collect more than 80 snakes and 100 turtles as well as countless frogs, lizards and salamanders. Though the work was not always easy, we accomplished a great deal.

This internship helped me to understand the difficulty and the necessity of restoration ecology. And it helped me gain a far greater understanding for one of the disciplines I am most interested in. Only through thinking forward, rather than backward, can we alter the future.

“This internship helped me to understand the difficulty and the necessity of restoration ecology. Only through thinking forward, rather than backward, can we alter the future.�

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The National Climatic Data Center Intern Tim Burkhardt

“The job helped me hone my proofreading and editing skills, and taught me about cooperating on a long-term project as a team. I hope to one day have a job like this—writing for scientists and in defense of the planet.”

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The National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) is located in the federal building in Asheville and is a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the largest archive of weather data in the world. Scientists working for NCDC compile and analyze the data in respect to its relationship with climate change.

As a science writer, my job while at NCDC revolved around creating informational texts to better communicate some of the findings that climate scientists have recently been researching. Most significantly, I wrote six, one-page papers that explained what links have been found between extreme weather events and climate change, specifically on the topics of heat waves, cold waves, floods, droughts and coastal storms. I also worked on the NCDC “Frequently Asked Questions” page for their website, and I wrote an article for Climate.gov about the process of data homogenization. I worked with renowned climate scientists and while they were often very busy, their suggestions and clarifications were invaluable.

I learned a lot about the meteorology and the science behind climate change. The work that I did can be used to help communicate climate-related environmental issues to the general public. The climate is such a complex thing to deal with, every day I learned about a new factor that scientists need to understand or be aware of when performing research and testing. I gained a better understanding of environmental policies, how the fossil fuel industry is regulated, and what the trade-offs are between the environment and the economy when it comes to the disposal of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

Talking to scientists, learning new things every day and exercising my writing abilities was challenging and rewarding. The job helped me hone my proofreading and editing skills, and taught me about cooperating on a long-term project as a team. I hope to one day have a job like this—writing for scientists and in defense of the planet.

The North Carolina Coastal Federation Intern Stephanie Williams

The North Carolina Coastal Federation (NCCF) seeks to protect the state’s coastal water and natural resources. The restoration efforts at NCCF focus on oyster rehabilitation and the prevention of coastline erosion. The Federation partners with Hammocks Beach State Park on restoration and education projects.

The main duties of my internship were to lead public education programs at Hammocks Beach State Park and to engage in the restoration efforts at Jones Island. Education days started quickly. I would set minnow traps and throw a cast net in hopes of catching fish for the touch tank. After bringing in the first catch of the day, I began to set out shells. By this point, people became very interested in what I was doing, and the shell table would quickly catch the attention of children. I had to be very knowledgeable regarding everything that I was putting on the table and spent the first weeks learning about marine animals as well as the coast. I became proficient in facts about any seashell. Locals and other employees soon knew me as the “shell girl.”

I also participated in the Jones Island restoration project once a week. After the site was ready and oyster shells bagged, we placed nearly 1000 bags in the water in just two days.

Throughout the summer, I wrote a distance learning curriculum that will be on the NCCF website as an educational resource. This document took an abundance of research and countless hours and became my most prized accomplishment of the summer. This fine-tuned my skills of writing and designing curriculum.

The knowledge I gained in aquatic ecology has already helped me with my studies this semester. I have a better understanding for upper management within a small company, and I now have great experience working with a state park. This experience will shape my future in many ways.

“The knowledge I gained in aquatic ecology has already helped me with my studies this semester. I have a better understanding for upper management within a small company, and I now have great experience working with a state park.”

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Penland School of Crafts Intern Eva Yancy

The Penland School of Crafts is a national center for craft education dedicated to helping people live creative lives. The school is also well known for its intricately maintained landscaping and gardens. My internship was based on the school’s landscape, rather than its mission to “support individual and artistic growth through craft.” The vegetable garden, around five years old, is a quarter of an acre, and all the produce goes to the dining hall.

I was to work primarily in the herb and vegetable gardens and also research economic data (harvest records and labor tallies) to determine whether the gardens are a cost or benefit to the school. My responsibilities were primarily weeding, harvesting, planting and watering with additional work with irrigation, fence management and compost. In reality, most of my time went towards general landscaping and compost duties. Compost duty entailed taking ten heavy buckets of food to the compost compound located beyond the resident artist studios.

We would empty the buckets into a bin and then cover it with equal amounts of feedstock, which were usually mulch, sawdust and piles of weeds. Sometimes we would work in the garden, rake paths, weed flowerbeds or plant more beautiful plants in them.

One accomplishment I was especially proud of was getting to plant the green onions and lettuce I seeded earlier. My biggest accomplishment, though, was analyzing data from the past fiscal year to determine that vegetables given to the dining hall brought in a profit with the labor costs subtracted. In addition, I set up spreadsheets to make it easier to record data in the future.

Working at Penland taught me a few new things about myself. I definitely want to work with vegetable gardening in my future with an emphasis in urban agriculture. I want to help urban communities start gardens, teach them about the importance of nutrition, and give them access to fresh vegetables they otherwise wouldn’t have.

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“My biggest accomplishment, though, was analyzing data from the past fiscal year to determine that vegetables given to the dining hall brought in a profit with the labor costs subtracted. In addition, I set up spreadsheets to make it easier to record data in the future.”

Smithsonian Environmental Research Center Intern Amelia Snyder

In 1964, Robert Lee Forrest donated his farm to the Smithsonian. Unsure what to do with this property, the Smithsonian soon realized the variety of environments—terrestrial, wetland, and estuarine—provided an ideal location for a research center that is now known as the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center.

My summer research tied into a larger grant studying denitrification. Denitrification is the process that turns reactive nitrogen, present in fertilizer, into an unreactive form of nitrogen. It is important to understand the fate of the nitrogen inputs to help prevent nutrient loading to the Chesapeake Bay. My research explored two new ways to measure denitrification rates from streams using single-point sampling with radon and argon gases.

The first couple weeks of my internship were completely focused on learning. Every day we learned how to use field equipment, how to process water samples and the basics of how all of the instruments worked. I then spent most of my time collecting water samples in the Choptank River watershed. Back in the lab, we prepared the water samples to be run through several instruments that would measure different ions and elements.

Towards the end of my internship, my days and nights were consumed with processing data as we had collected a huge amount of data over the summer. Before testing the water samples, we derived several new models, and had little success. The day before I was to present my summer research, we finally found a model that worked! I processed my data and understand it well enough to give a presentation all in one day.

It was rewarding to see our lab produce a successful model and have my summer’s hard work pay off. It was exciting to know the new methods I helped develop may benefit the research community in preventing nutrient loading in our waterways. The long hours and stressful days were more than worth the success that I achieved in the end.

“It was exciting to know the new methods I helped develop may benefit the research community in preventing nutrient loading in our waterways.”

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Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center Intern Sheridan Boyle

Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center is divided among four islands. Two of these islands, South Island and Sand Island, are surveyed each year by turtle conservationists. The primary purpose of loggerhead sea turtle conservation at Tom Yawkey is nest protection and relocation.

Turtle C.S.I. (Crawl Scene Investigation) began with finding nests laid the previous night. I quickly learned that this is easier said than done. The first step was to identify the direction in which the turtle came up. By examining the placement of her flippers, we determined where the body pit first began. If the crawl seemed even slightly like a possible nest, the suspected area was thoroughly probed with a metal, T-shaped tool. One might think that shoving a metal rod into a nest of delicate eggs would be the furthest thing from conservation; however, when done skillfully, a probe reaches the soft sand surrounding the clutch and slightly gives way. It is this slight give that I had to train myself to feel.

A screen, held in place by stakes, was then placed directly over the nest. The nest’s number, site description, latitude and longitude were recorded into a data book, and the nest was flagged accordingly.

Before starting my internship, I wondered if a career in conservation biology was something I really desired. My experiences with sea turtle conservation, while enjoyable, caused me to investigate another field: animal behavior.

Throughout my time on the island, I was always asking “Why?” I wondered why some turtles chose to lie in a spot I considered to be poor when there was an adequate spot just beside it. I wondered why ghost crabs destroy an entire nest after eating only one egg.

I wanted to understand the motive and reasoning within the animals themselves. I did not only want to deal with problems, I wanted to understand why they occurred. Because of this questioning, I have decided to pursue an advanced degree in animal behavior.

“Before starting my internship, I wondered if a career in conservation biology was something I really desired. My experiences with sea turtle conservation, while enjoyable, caused me to investigate another field: animal behavior.”

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Western North Carolina Alliance Intern Stephen Van Gordan

This summer, I worked as the intern to the community organizer at the Western North Carolina Alliance (WNCA). The idea of Western North Carolina’s mountains being part of the region’s “commons,” (i.e. land that isn’t owned by any one person but which can be used by any member of the community) pervades WNCA’s philosophy. Whether opposing natural gas extraction in the Pisgah National Forest, fighting destructive highway construction or removing invasive species, the WNCA always acts to ensure that the environment can be used sustainably for the benefit of not only today’s citizens but for generations to come.

My tasks could broadly be classified into outreach, voter education and office work.

Community outreach consisted of keeping in touch with our members, informing them of ways they could make a difference and highlighting WNCA’s current work. Another part of my job was voter education. This summer, the WNCA was pushing the “All Three 4 NC” campaign. The goal of the campaign was to dispel the myth that the environment must be sacrificed for economic growth. I reached out to local businesses and made the campaign more visible by writing letters to the editor, which were especially important. At first, it was challenging to step out of the academic writing community and using concise language that was both plainspoken and convincing. Although it was difficult, I believe that I developed valuable communication skills.

At the WNCA, I saw how deeply connected economics and the environment are.

For many politicians, the only persuasive argument for protecting the environment was an economic one—they’d do just about whatever it took if it meant creating jobs. What was so inspiring, though, was that in almost every instance, good environmental policy was good economic policy. By trying to protect the environment and human health, I felt like I was also helping to grow the region’s economy and provide jobs.

“The goal of the campaign was to dispel the myth that the environment must be sacrificed for economic growth. I reached out to local businesses and made the campaign more visible by writing letters to the editor, which were especially important. What was so inspiring, though, was that in almost every instance, good environmental policy was good economic policy.”

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Wild South Intern Ben Surface

Wild South is a relatively young organization that was formed through the merger of southeastern conservation groups. Its mission is to “inspire people to enjoy, value and protect the wild character and natural legacy of the South.” With this as the guiding principle, Wild South uses volunteer efforts, advocacy, education and legal action to put people in contact with nature and preserve the integrity of our southern wild places.

My primary responsibility was to help coordinate the initial efforts on a new project in the Linville Gorge Wilderness Area. I formed a relationship with a Forest Service botanist, and we worked to protect two federally listed plant species, Mountain Golden Heather (Hudsonia Montana) and Heller’s Blazing Star (Liatris helleri) in this wilderness area. My work in the Linville Gorge required that I spend days hiking its beautiful trails and manually removing non-native invasive plants. Though my job focused on the Linville Gorge, I was also able to participate in bat and hellbender surveys and write articles for the Wild South website.

I learned a great deal about the biodiversity of Western North Carolina and of the challenges and pressures placed on the ecosystems in this area. I am pursuing a major in environmental policy and, while I was able to experience some policy aspects of environmental nonprofit work, I really enjoyed learning the hard science relevant to comprehensive policy work. Because of my internship I am more aware of the biological aspects of my surroundings and can no longer drive down a road without picking out populations of non-native invasive plants such as Princess Tree or Mullen.

“I was able to experience some policy aspects of environmental nonprofit work, I really enjoyed learning the hard science relevant to comprehensive policy work.”

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The Wilderness Society Intern Xenia Pantos

Southern Appalachian Wilderness Stewards (SAWS), a program of the Wilderness Society, was started two years ago to inspire a new generation of wilderness stewards to care for our wild places. SAWS does this by hosting a Wilderness Skills Institute, employing trail crew leaders, recruiting volunteers for trail work and employing a team of wilderness rangers.

I was a crew leader of the Backcountry Overnight Operations Team, the Yonkers Crew, as we were known. We went into the backcountry Sunday afternoon and established a base camp. We stayed at this base camp all week working on a project nearby and hiked out Friday.

The workday officially started with the job hazard analysis, in which the group reviews the project for the day, what the hazards are, and how they will be mitigated. We then hiked (or drove) to our worksite. Each day we dug, lopped and sawed. In the Linville Gorge this meant digging through feet of duff layer (the first stage of decomposing plant matter), while in the Cohutta Wilderness, this meant lopping and cutting plants and trees that had grown over the trail. At the end of the day, we returned to camp to rest and cook dinner. This schedule stayed the same no matter what wilderness area we were in.

I feel most satisfied with the work when I can see the progress made. By repairing, building and maintaining trails in wilderness areas, I was able to see this. Entering an area in disrepair with dangerous or overgrown trails and being able to leave a safe and enjoyable trail made the hard work worth it.

Through my internship I learned to crosscut saw, improved my axe technique and became more competent using and teaching others to use various trail tools. Learning these new skills was exciting! Although I am not exactly sure where I will be a year from now, I know I will be working outdoors with people doing something I feel passionately about.

“Entering an area in disrepair with dangerous or overgrown trails and being able to leave a safe and enjoyable trail made the hard work worth it.”

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2012 Sustainability Internships Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project Asheville, N.C. Ashevillage Institute Asheville, N.C. City of Asheville, Office of Sustainability Transit Services Asheville, N.C. Audubon Seabird Restoration Project Bremen, Maine CooperRiis Healing Farm Community Mill Spring, N.C. Dr. John Wilson Community Garden Black Mountain, N.C. Georgia Interfaith Power and Light Decatur, Ga. Great Smoky Mountains National Park—Appalachian Highlands Science Center Purchase Knob, N.C.

National Climatic Data Center Asheville, N.C.

Office of Admission PO Box 9000 Asheville, NC 28815-9000

North Carolina Coastal Federation Newport, N.C. Penland School of Crafts Penland, N.C. The Nature Conservancy Long Island Cold Spring Harbour, N.Y. Outer Banks Kill Devil Hills, N.C. The Wilderness Society Southern Appalachian Region Franklin, N.C. Smithsonian Environmental Research Center Edgewater, Md. Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center South Island, S.C. Western North Carolina Alliance Asheville, N.C.

Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont Townsend, Tenn.

Water Keeper Alliance/French Broad River Keeper Asheville, N.C.

Just Economics Asheville, N.C.

Wild South/North Carolina Asheville, N.C.

Montreat Conference Center Montreat, N.C.

WARREN WILSON COLLEGE

“To build students’ preparation for both work and citizenship, higher education needs to give new emphasis to fostering practical judgment and problem solving in the field.”

College Learning for the New Global Century Association of American Colleges and Universities

Intern Silvia LaPorta, The Nature Conservancy, Long Island