The first week I was at my internship I went on a walk around the wetlands by myself with the goal of learning the names of 5 flowers and 3 insects. I had just downloaded the app Seek by recommendation from my boss. Seek is an app (that I also now recommend to everyone) that has you scan plants, insects, and birds (if you are able to snap a picture of them quick enough) and then informs you what species it is. It is much easier to use Seek, than a field guide where you have to flip through the pages for ages trying to find the object you observed. Anyways, as I was saying on my first day I went for a walk and I got to see a Great Blue Heron (the only bird I have been quick enough to scan, probably because it wasn’t moving), a snake, and 3 deer all just on a half mile path! Let’s just say I left that first week being pretty excited about my new internship!
My internship has not gotten any less exciting the past two months. I have been doing a large variety of activities and each one has provided me with new learning experiences and opportunities. Two weeks ago I got to present a “Pollination and Host Plant” lesson that I wrote to both a camp and library. I will not lie, I was pretty nervous to present, but it helped that my boss helped present for the first one. It ended up going way better than I expected. I created a butterfly egg laying activity for the kids, which I had a ton of fun creating. It was the perfect combination of creativity, environmental education, and even a little basic math. I am now working on an “Endangered Species” lesson, and hoping that will turn out just as good if not better!
The Butterfly Activity
As part of my internship I have also started writing blog posts for the WREN website, and have found that I thoroughly enjoy writing them. My most recent blog post was about Native Plants. I got the chance to interview a family from Minnesota that has turned a majority of their yard into a native plant garden. It was really fun to get to talk to members of the community I grew up in and relate it to what I am working on at my job and studying in school. I have found blog writing to be a very interesting way to combine what I am learning with engagement of the community.
Native plant garden I visited.
The past two months have flown by!! I am excited to see what the next two months will bring my way as I come to an end of my internship position.