By Fiona Southers
Hi, my name is Fiona and this month I started working with the Boone County Conservation District as one of their new interns! I was able to meet the team that does amazing work there and get to know likeminded people that care about the planet. I got to take many tours of the Property known as the Earl and Hazel Jones Center for Conservation that also has ruins of a historic Mill. On Saturday we hosted a public open house, but before that I worked to make sure the trails were nice, set up tables, and helped to build a wooden fence along the mill site viewing area. The day of the open house was very rainy, but I invited my family and was able to give people tours of the protected areas to many members of the public.
I have immediately started helping out with their Kentucky Watershed Watch sampling events to check the water quality of different streams in Boone County. After sampling through Middle Creek at their Decker Wildlife Management Area I was inspired to do my summer research project on the Middle Creek Watershed because of its location and its importance to the local ecosystem. I have decided that I want to create a plan for watershed management and to educate the public on why there are needed restoration projects that will be started on Middle Creek.
I have also been helping out with planning for a conservation kid’s camp by planning an archaeology digging activity with artifacts for kids to find in different layers. Everything that I am using I have found or BCCD has given me that they have found ranging from pottery sherds, to fossils, and rocks. This activity will have a timeline that kids are going to try and figure out what time period each piece they find is from and the importance of conservation by thinking about what they are leaving behind for other people to find.
This week we have been mostly planning for camp and practicing how the activities and other camp things are going to go on people from various environmental organizations. It was nice to meet everyone, learn what to add to the activities, what to change, and hear feedback from others to make this camp even better for the kids this summer!
In just this May I have got training for CPR, chainsaws, camp activities, and water sampling that will be extremely helpful for the rest of the summer and my future career.
Here are some of my favorite photos from May!
