Speakers

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LEAP 2024: Struggles & Successes in Environmental Stewardship - Abstracts

Panel 48: Struggles & Successes in Environmental Stewardship

Fueled by nature but fearful of failure? Come hear our panelists talk about different internships relating to environmental stewardship, with varying degrees of success and different points of struggle. Hear the stories and advice from a horticulturist on campus, an environmental stewardess of a local Massachusetts land trust, a frog scientist in Vermont, and a marine conservationist in Thailand. We will discuss how we secured fieldwork internships, our victories and downfalls along the way, how we overcame them, and what we learned from our varied experiences.

Dirt and Discovery: Public Horticulture at MHC
Bridget McBride ’26, Environmental Studies major & French minor

Frog Days of Summer: My Experience in Field Research
Alyssa Solleder ’26, Environmental Studies and Geology double major

Stewardship Intern - East Quabbin Land Trust
Caroline DeGrave ’26, Environmental Studies major

Reignating Dreams: Marine Research in Thailand
Callie Ten Kate ’24, Neuroscience and Behavior major

Speaker name: Callie Ten Kate
Title: Reignating Dreams: Marine Research in Thailand
I had the opportunity to spend my summer working with Global Reef on the Island of Koh Tao. I applied to the internship on a whim and couldn’t turn down the opportunity! I got to spend my summer SCUBA diving, doing reef monitoring and fish surveys, and connecting with Thai culture. Global Reef works with Universities all over the world and the Thai government to collect data for different research projects.This opportunity taught me that the career of my dreams I put aside to face reality might not be as impossible as I once thought. Despite facing many challenges living on the opposite side of the planet I learned a lot about my goals and aspirations for the future.

Speaker name: Struggles & Successes in Environmental Stewardship
Title: Dirt and Discovery: Public Horticulture at MHC
This summer I worked as a Public Horticulturist Intern at the Mount Holyoke College Botanic Garden. I maintained the plants inside the greenhouse and in the outdoor gardens that students may visit throughout the school year. I also helped develop an interpretive QR code tour of the outdoor gardens, building off the previously created greenhouse tour. In this presentation, I will discuss the process of obtaining this internship, my experience as a horticulturist on campus, and the outcomes and takeaways from this opportunity. I will focus on the various accomplishments and setbacks that I ran into each step of the way, and how my internship has informed my professional, academic, and personal development.

Speaker name: Alyssa Solleder
Title: Frog Days of Summer: My Experience in Field Research
This summer, I had the opportunity to work as a research technician for a PhD student at the University of Vermont studying amphibian disease ecology. Throughout the summer, we visited multiple ponds in northwest Vermont and carried out three different kinds of surveys to learn more about biodiversity and disease prevalence in pond ecosystems. We conducted visual encounter surveys, dipnet surveys, and green frog disease surveys, where we caught green frogs (Lithobates clamitans) at each pond and swabbed them for diseases to be sent off to a lab. I experienced the highs and lows of field work firsthand and gained a deeper understanding of what research in my field entails at the graduate level and beyond.

Speaker name: Caroline DeGrave
Title: Stewardship Intern - East Quabbin Land Trust
I worked both individually and alongside other dedicated volunteers as a Stewardship Intern at the East Quabbin Land Trust, contributing to land conservation efforts by maintaining properties from meadows to trails, enhancing pollinator gardens, and participating in wildlife monitoring, while also engaging the public in environmental education. I also worked in a community garden and cultivated wonderful vegetables and flowers. As a result of these experiences, I have gained a deeper appreciation for the importance of community involvement in preserving our environment.