So I have completed part 1 of my internship and can't wait to begin once more next quarter. I really have enjoyed working at the NRCS and am amazed at what I have learned. I have done 2 internships before this and while both were fun experiences, I left each of them learning more about how frustrating working on environmental projects can be instead of seeing the success. At NRCS, I see mostly success. I know a lot of that has to do with Rich. He goes above and beyond to try to help as many people as he can, even going to people's land that is far below the acreage we should be seeing. He understands that this can help in ways we would not be able to measure, depending on their land use and where they are in the watershed.
I have also learned so much. Not only am I learning how to apply the techniques I learned in my restoration ecology class, I am seeing the type of problems you face in the resource management field and learning how to solve them. I have been able to improve my GIS skills which I look forward to improving more next quarter. I also have learned to perform erodible land determinations, how to create conservation reports, and the people skills necessary when coming onto someones land as a guest and giving them advice againsts what they normally do. Most importantly, I've learned to have hope for my field once more. A lot of what you hear in environmental studies is the difficulty of never being able to do enough, or facing a lot of conflict when trying to create environmental projects. At NRCS, I see federal money being used on valuable projects and people interested in being better stewards of the land. I would love to be the person helping facilitate this growth and change in the future and I can't wait to start work next quarter.
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