Conservation You!

Students share stories of their conservation experiences.

Image: Mussel inventory, New Hope Creek, Durham (Oct 2015)

Conservation is practiced in so many different ways. During many of our class sessions, your team members will talk about their conservation experiences. You can too! Just send me an eMail with a title, a paragraph, and a picture and I'll get you on the schedule.

Presentation Folder

09.26 - Lana Davenport - Back of Beyond in Alaska: Tales from Shuyak Island State Park

I am excited to share my experiences and photos from Shuyak Island with all of you! In my talk I will discuss the internship itself, how you can find one with Alaska State Parks if interested, and some of the unique conservation challenges that Shuyak Island faces. I also will be sharing my photography from Kodiak and Shuyak Islands. The time that I spent there has shaped who I am and probably the rest of my career, and I hope that my talk will spur you all to go and find similarly impactful experiences.

A lake with mountains in the background. There is a person in a kayak on the lake. The scene is a bit hazy and almost melancholy.

09.28 - Matthew Francisco - Biodiversity in Bhutan: The Last Shangri-La ...?

I'll be giving a presentation about my 7-week program in Bhutan, specifically the coursework, research, and cultural experiences. I'll also give an overview of Bhutan as a country (a very unique place) and include a slide about The School for Field Studies, the organization that runs this program. Studying abroad absolutely changed my life and I will continue to promote studying abroad because it's the best way to understand the world and find yourself at the same time!

A scene of a valley with crops surrounded by mountains. There are some buildings in the valley. Everything is very green and the sky is cloudy.

10.03 - Iris Horton - The Best Decision I've Ever Made!

I will talk about how I ended up going to the Amazon twice and conducting research at a field station. There were amazing experiences there that I will share as well as the challenges we all faced that pushed people to their limits (and how we overcame them). I am a huge homebody so I was as out of my comfort zone as I could be, but it helped me grow and made me want to go back a second time. I will also talk about how it helped me figure out what I want to do as my career, as well as friends of mine there, and I discovered a love for species I had no previous experience with.

A group of 8 people standing on a small deck. There is a lake behind them and a line of trees behind that.

10.05 - Nicole Bilodeau - Montana Conservation Corps: Trail Crew Tales

I am excited to share my experiences from my time working with the Montana Conservation Corps! I will share where I worked in Montana, Information about MCC, AmeriCorps, and the US Forest Service. There were so many amazing skills that I learned during this time and tons of fun stories and beautiful views that I’m excited to share. I will share some of the struggles that I had and how I learned from them and turned them into something positive. As a bonus, I will also share about the summer field course by the SETWS that I was a part of this past summer, what I learned, how it benefited me, and how you could do the same!

A lake surrounded by trees going up very steep slopes. The water is very aqua and there are some logs floating in it.

10.24 - Cassie Bolton - Raleigh Invasives Removal Corps

I was a member of the Youth Conservation Corps in Raleigh in the summer of 2021. It was much different than I expected. A lot of work needs to be done in Raleigh Parks to manage invasive species. Wisteria, privet, autumn olive and more have taken over much of the parks. It is important that, as residents of Raleigh and many of us enjoyers of Raleigh Parks, we be aware of the challenges that face our parks and come together to help them.

A group of people dressed in blue standing in tall brush. The area behind it is tree lined. They are removing invasive plants.

10.31 - Amelia Faust - Compromise and Conserving Monarch Butterflies

Early in this class, we discussed the battle between despair and optimism in the field of conservation biology. Despair and hopelessness drives us to apathy and inaction, while unrealistic optimism is difficult to maintain and often leads us to circle back around to cynicism. My time learning about monarch butterflies and the struggles of helping migratory species across country borders highlighted for me the power of compromising in conservation.

Yellow cone flowers that monarch butterflies use for habitat.

11.09 - Elizabeth Selves - Beauty & Environmental Science in On-Site Water Protection

I am so excited to share my experience in working in my local government sector of Onsite-Water Protection. Listen as I talk about the interesting science in understanding topography, wildlife in the area, and soils that help us evaluate the land. Not to mention how much I have fallen in love with fieldwork and even establishing my own creative way of getting to know the land more as I collect plant species in the area for personal field notes and studies. This job has helped me see what I would like to do for my career when I finish my degree this December and I hope it can help you in some way too!

Page updated

Report abuse