Welcome 2019 Summer Land Management Interns!
Many thanks to the Olive B. Cole Foundation and the Lilly Endowment internship support through Manchester University for supporting the ACRES summer land management program. ACRES staff look forward to this annual influx of energy and support. We get much more accomplished with the boost to the workforce and we gain the satisfaction of supporting and learning from the newest generation of conservation leaders.
In addition to shadowing professionals in the field and sharing in a variety of land management tasks, ACRES’ summer interns will focus on fighting invasive plants on our lands in the Cedar Creek corridor. This work is part of our third year of a five-year Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) funding through the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) under the US Department of Agriculture.
EQIP’s focus on invasive brush removal allows ACRES funding to focus on this year’s work monitoring and spraying Japanese stiltgrass. Newly discovered in 2015 in the Cedar Creek area, Japanese stiltgrass is now on retreat, but we must be vigilant to keep this plant from totally overtaking forest floors, as it has in the southeastern United States.
Please welcome our incoming 2019 interns:
Tate Allen, Purdue University
I am currently majoring in Forestry and minoring in Wildlife at Purdue University. I chose ACRES because I felt like we both have similar values towards the environment. I like how ACRES maintains our forests for future generations to enjoy. I also like how you educate our communities on all
the benefits that come with preserving our natural areas.
I have grown up in the outdoors fishing, hunting and hiking. I have a great
appreciation for our environment and the life that it holds. I am excited to be working with ACRES this summer.
Carman Draves, Manchester University
I’m studying history, environmental studies with a natural history
concentration, and general music with a piano emphasis at Manchester University.
I chose ACRES because I saw Dave Fox’s name on a pamphlet, and he was one of the people who shaped my childhood. Dave was the man who sparked my interest in geology.
Shannon Felger, Purdue University
As a future Environmental Science major, I chose ACRES for obvious reasons. I come from a farming family and have grown up increasingly enthused with the outdoors, whether that be hiking through ACRES trails next door, or simply spending my summers exploring new and beautiful places across the country. I have refined those interests over the years to narrow my concentration of study down to both Land Use and Sustainable Agriculture Systems.
With this in mind, I cannot wait to see what valuable things my internship with ACRES will teach me this summer!
Jessica Gumbert, University of Saint Francis
Hey there! I am an Environmental Science major with a concentration in Conservation Biology. I chose ACRES because I’m passionate about conservation and have been going to the Bicentennial Woods for as long as I can remember—it’s one of my favorite places to visit. ACRES is an amazing opportunity for me to get into my field and take the first steps towards my dream of becoming a conservationist!
