Internship: Prairie Conservation and Ecological Restoration

In this internship, students learn about the restoration ecology of south Puget Sound prairies through independent research and hands-on field work. A commitment is required to work from 24 to 35 hours per week as an intern with Dr. Sarah Hamman, restoration ecologist with Ecostudies Institute. Field time is primarily focused on vegetation monitoring for a suite of projects, such as: 1) grazing impacts on native plant communities, 2) herbicide effects on native and non-native species, and 3) influence of indigenous camas harvesting on prairie communities. Students work in a four-person team, including an Ecostudies team lead, an Americorps member and another intern from the Evergreen State College. As a part of their independent work, students read over ten prairie-based scientific articles and write multiple short responses and a final synthesis paper based on the assigned readings and field experience. Overall, through participating in ongoing restoration research projects with Ecostudies throughout the term, students gain field experience with plant identification, vegetation monitoring methods, data management, and the overall ecological restoration process.