Land Stewardship Interns Wrap Up the Summer

By Taylor on August 26, 2014 in Blog

Unfortunately, the statewide and blufflands summer land stewardship internship program has come to an end, and all interns have headed home. Filled with accomplishment and learning, the internship program was 11 weeks long, allowing the interns to travel to all the corners of Iowa and work on 25 sites, including private and public properties. Here are some of the tasks and events in which they participated:

1. G.R.A.S.S. – INHF partnered with the Iowa DNR for this event. The interns were able to work with 50 volunteers, including interns from The Nature Conservancy, the DNR trails crew, Nishnabotna Wildlife Unit and the Missouri River Wildlife Unit. Despite the steep terrain and hot weather, their passion for restoring remnant Loess Hills prairie remained unquelled.
2. Easement Monitoring – The interns had the opportunity to accompany INHF staff on an easement monitoring visit, allowing them to experience another function of the land stewardship staff. Interns were able to see some of the steps it takes to complete an easement monitoring visit and gain a basic understanding of INHF’s conservation easements.
3. Connecting with staff, board members and donors – Throughout the summer the interns attended multiple events where they were able to interact with INHF staff, board members and donors. This gave them a great opportunity to exchange personal stories on how their career or passion has contributed to improving Iowa. Here are some of the events they attended: 35th anniversary, intern reunion, board meeting, intern picnic and the R.J. McElroy Trust field visit.

We would like to thank all the interns for the hard work they put in this summer to help improve Iowa’s land, water and wildlife. Their dedication to conservation in Iowa will provide a lasting effect for years to come.

To learn more about the statewide and blufflands internship programs on our website.