In late June, we wrapped up our fourth year of the Harris Center-Keene State College conservation internship program, a seven-week summer internship experience for undergraduate students in the Environmental Studies Department at Keene State College (KSC).
Under the guidance of Harris Center staff and KSC faculty, four outstanding undergraduate interns − Dorothy Arroyo, Victoria Drake, Rob Lanfranchi, and Shauna Sousa − assisted with many facets of the Harris Center’s diverse conservation and education work.
Harris Center Director Jeremy Wilson trains the internship team in tree identification and forest community inventory techniques. (photo © Brett Amy Thelen)
The internship team documents a vernal pool on Harris Center-conserved land. (photo © Brett Amy Thelen)
Together, the team surveyed 35 forest community inventory plots, documented 7 new vernal pools, surveyed and pulled hundreds of invasive plants, measured and mapped chestnut seedlings, monitored endangered birds as part of our Project Nighthawk citizen science program, worked on the popular Eastview Trail, conducted weekly monitoring of our campsites on Spoonwood Pond, and assisted with educational events. They also collected the fourth and final year of data for a wildlife road mortality study on a section of Route 123 that bisects SuperSanctuary lands in Hancock, Antrim, Stoddard, and Nelson.
For more information on this innovative internship program, contact Brett Amy Thelen at (603) 358-2065 or by email.
