As I sat in Yates Auditorium in the Department of the Interior listening to fellow interns present their projects behind a podium and a movie theater sized screen with their power points, I was amazed. Having this experience, a trip to Washington DC to present,...
The focus of my project while in Glacier is to conduct sound monitoring in the park to see how the soundscape has changed. A soundscape includes all the audible sounds within a specific area. Preserving the natural soundscape is important to preserve wilderness character, which...
Wildflowers! Such a wonderful part of the natural world. Soaking up the sun in the sky and water in the soil to turn simple elements into valued resources is an incredible feat that’s often underappreciated. On my hike into the Belly River, my coworkers and...
“Wow,” I thought to myself, “this is the life.” To my left was the gentle flow of Lower McDonald Creek, with its water sparkling in the sun. To my right were the deep greens of a lush forest, with the ferns, trees, and many other...
My legs grazed through the dewy grass as I walked along the road. Although wearing closed-toed boots, I could almost feel the cool droplets touch my feet as sharply as the misty air on my face. One side of the road had shrubs leading to...
Thanks to the Mosaics in Science Diversity Internship Program, I have a greater sense of respect and admiration for the National Park Service. Working with scientists in both the Greater Yellowstone Inventory and Monitoring Network and the Yellowstone Center for Resources has inspired me immensely....
What is an Orthoptera? Orthoptera is an order of insects that include grasshoppers, crickets, and katydids. For our Orthoptera survey, we were looking for the presence and abundance of Mormon crickets (which are actually katydids) and grasshoppers. Additionally, we wanted to determine the dominant life...
Yellowstone Phenology Citizen Science Project My supervisor Erik Oberg developed the Yellowstone Phenology Project, a citizen science initiative that has been made possible by Yellowstone scientists, Yellowstone Forever, and dedicated volunteers. Now in its second year, this project has proved to be effective, as it...
Listening to live folk music and eating cheese curds on a wooden bench underneath the glow of the stars is how I spent my Friday night a couple of weeks ago. I had never listened to (or heard of) folk music before the start of...
For my project, I will 1) learn how to take up-close photographs of grasshoppers, 2) identify the developmental stages of the grasshoppers that we found during our Orthoptera density surveys, and 3) summarize climate data for the transects at each of our seven sites and...