My favorite marsh to wade through :) This week has been my first out in the field all on my own, and I had a blast! Last week's training gave me a lot to look forward to, and I have a lot of tasks to complete...
Despite going into my fourth year of college fifteen minutes away from Jamestown Island, I had never visited the park prior to my first day. I heard from my fellow geology students that the park was rich in its attractions, whether you were interested in...
Over the course of the last 12 weeks I have participated in a number of projects for the NPS; however, my primary task has been to conduct field work and write the preliminary report for a study on the effects of deer browse in the...
[caption id="attachment_7923" align="alignleft" width="367"] Pictured: Me and my friend, Caroline Black, a member of the invasive species removal crew sampling plants in the meadow. Caroline is recording the species that we find as I lean down to identify a plant.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_7924" align="alignright" width="366"] Pictured: The...
Two weeks ago, we began the Big Meadows Sampling in Shenandoah. The Big Meadows is a large open area on the ridgeline of the Blue Ridge Mountains that was cleared by Native Americans. After Europeans settled the area they kept the meadow open through grazing...
Last Thursday I completed my last day of cross-training. I trained with the fish electro-shocking crew. The fish crew goes out at 6:30 every morning and visits the different streams within the park to sample for fish populations. When I went out with them we...
I spent most of this week in park wide training for first season park service staff but at the end of the week I led a hike on the Chilkoot Trail with the goal to reach several sample sites. When I was not in training...
During the course of my internship I have participated in multiple cross-training activities with other departments in the park, as well as training courses to be recertified in first aid/CPR/AED and training to learn proper search and rescue technique. The cross- training I have received...
Something New As recently stated my project is centered around G.I.S. which is Geographical Informational Systems. Before this internship experience G.I.S was never my strongest skill, but it was something I always wanted to learn. However now that I have had this experience I have learned...
Living in Canada and studying Natural Resource Conservation at the University of British Columbia, I am not very familiar with the common plants of the Eastern forests. I am currently learning to identify the common plants found within Shenandoah National Park, along the Blue Ridge...