We’re about a month into this internship and really hit the ground running. My favorite part about this internship is meeting all the friends along the way - my co-intern - Kamryn, the BCCDKY staff, Boone County Parks, Boone County Extension, students from NKU, SD1, and the TMU biology field station summer interns. I love to learn, and I learn something new every single day. Although I am the Forest Health intern, I love the education aspect I’ve been able to help out with. I believe that you have to teach people about nature before asking for help protecting it. People need to feel connected to care. I love being the one to help make that connection.
What's Happening
- This camp was very impactful for me. I loved all 13 of the kids I was placed with, and I felt as if we all made a great team. Being the camp counselor for the Virginia Big Eared bats will forever be in my memories.
- Some Camp highlights:
- Took a hike and looked for salamanders
- Kayaked at Camp Ernst
- Made walking sticks
- Sculpted and painted clay monarchs
- Looked for macroinvertebrates in a pond
- The Bug Chicks
- KY Reptile Zoo
- Our end of camp skit!
- We had 4 bats, a 2 in 1 moth, a mosquito, and hula hoops acting as echolocation. Some kids read facts and adaptations of the VA big eared bat, and others sang the echolocation song!
Bat Acoustic Monitoring for endangered species
- Conservancy Park: Indiana bat and Gray bat
- Boone Cliffs: Indiana bat, Gray bat, and a Virginia Big Eared bat!
Learning and Researching
- We spoke about entomology with Dr. Parker from NKU and learned about pollinator diversity and how to study that.
- I learned about GIS and how to incorporate that into my independent study.
- I am constantly learning how to ID trees and other plants.
- Kamryn and I stop at every mushroom we see to look it up in a field guide.
- Herpetology is my favorite subject I’ve learned about this summer. We have caught green frogs, duskies, northern 2-line salamanders, and an eastern milk snake. We heard and saw American bullfrogs as well.
Field Work with SD1
- Collecting water samples from various sites in Boone County
- Hydromod survey at Dry Creek
- A tour of the Dry Creek Treatment Plant Tour
- It was exciting to meet up with some friends from NKU and the TMU Biology Field Station summer interns!
Exciting things are on the way regarding my upcoming research projects…
"In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks"
-John Muir
