“One of the most important things that this internship has given me is a passion for learning. I want to explore my passions and further grow and develop my environmental ethic.�
The Nature Conservancy, Long Island: Intern Marie Orton During my internship, my mission was to act as a piping plover steward in the Hamptons of Long Island, New York. The primary goals of a plover steward are to protect the piping plovers from human and other predators. When the program was first started on Long Island, there were just over 100 pairs, but through conservation efforts, this number has increased to around 420. I was given the task of performing any and all necessary actions to protect the piping plovers and least terns from actions of take or predation. These actions included frequent monitoring of plover sites, erecting symbolic fencing around nests, erecting predator exclosures over plover nests, and building off-road vehicle fencing to close the beaches to driving. While my main job was to monitor the birds, on occasion I was also asked to aid in other tasks, such as trail maintenance, saltmarsh sparrow banding, and preparing for fundraising functions. Through the diligence and commitment to the protection of these birds, the piping plovers had a fairly productive nesting season. The Nature Conservancy team also had the success of two separate fundraising events in which the Long Island Chapter raised $500,000 and $700,000 for their programs. One of the most important things that this internship has given me is a passion for learning. I want to explore my passions and further grow and develop my environmental ethic. I discovered that I have a stronger spirit and capacity for survival than I ever realized. At the same time, I also realized that I am still young and need time to discover more about myself before I will be independent enough to launch myself completely into a career. Overall, this experience was something I would never give up in a million years, and I am so pleased to have been given the chance to expand myself.
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