It’s finally time to end my internship with the BLM at Fort Ord National Monument. I had a huge number and variety of experiences here, and I’ll definitely miss all the people, places, plants, wildlife, and ecosystems that I’ve gotten to know.

I’ve learned a lot during my time at Fort Ord, way more than I would be able to describe in this post. Some of the main things, though – I gained a lot of experience with plant, wildlife, and ecosystem identification, as well as plant anatomy and taxonomy. I’d be able to tell anyone how to ID a Fort Ord grass based on its ligule, or the subtle differences between Ericameria ericoides and Ericameria fasciculata seeds (not that anyone would ever ask haha). I’ve also seen first hand what conservation work is like, as well as work in a federal agency, which has been invaluable in helping decide the next steps for my career.

And, one last lesson Fort Ord taught me before I left was how to respect and deal with poison oak. I’d touched poison oak before and gotten small rashes here and there, but a week ago I carelessly worked through a stand of it while repairing goat grazing plot fences, and sure enough now I have big angry rashes across my arms, shins, and stomach (even after washing with Tecnu!). I now realize just how nasty and uncomfortable poison oak can be, but I also feel that I deserved it to an extent – I didn’t really respect it enough until that experience set me straight.

Overall though, I am really glad to have had this amazing opportunity. I feel very grateful for all I’ve had a chance to learn and do, and to all the wonderful people I got to work with, especially my mentor, Bruce, who guided and supported me in more ways than I’d possibly be able to articulate.

Six months ago I would have been able to tell you the latin names of maybe twenty different plants, usually only when they were in flower, and correctly identifying them would probably take a few tries. I didn’t know any coastal or salt marsh species, sedges and grasses were out of the question, my botanic vocabulary was very limited. Floras and dichotomous keys were intimidating books to only be touched if you wanted to induce a headache. I had only been camping two times. And I had definitely never collected seeds.

However yesterday, I was able to look at a list of 305 latin names of the species we collected from, and know which of these collections would be appropriate for a project manager to use at their dam removal and freshwater stream restoration site. I am probably able to identify a few hundred species on the spot, and can easily figure out a few hundred more using floras and keys. I realized a few months ago that I can look at a tray of seeds and identify what plant it came from.

We’ve traveled over 10,000 miles up and down the five coastal New England states, made over 300 collections (our goal was 200), and collected from up to 13 different species in one day. I’ve witnessed the breathtaking panoramic view from the tops of the Parker River sand dunes on Plum Island, the vast Atlantic spreading out beyond the horizon on the East, and miles upon miles of pristine salt marsh teeming with life on the West. I’ve been unexpectedly sucked knee-deep into mud more times than I can count (but managed to bring my boots back to the surface every time!). I’ve bounced through trampolines of sphagnum bogs, tip-toeing around rare plants that non-botanist eyes would never have noticed. I was humbled each time we came back and saw our footprints remaining in the same spots months later. I’ve felt the heavy helplessness of watching a freshwater marsh go through a drought, lily pads crunching underneath our feet on the dry, cracked mud. And I was lucky enough to see that same marsh finally retaining water when the drought let up – I will always be in awe of the resilience of plants.

During this internship, I was always thinking of a section of my favorite poem, Wendell Berry’s “Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front”:

            “Say that your main crop is the forest that you did not plant, that you will not live to harvest. Say that the leaves are harvested when they have rotted into the mold. Call that profit. Prophesy such returns. Put your faith in the two inches of humus that will build under the trees every thousand years. Listen to carrion — put your ear close, and hear the faint chattering of the songs that are to come. Expect the end of the world. Laugh. Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful though you have considered all the facts.”

I had always read most of this poem as a metaphor. However during the past six months I was literally harvesting what I never planted. We had to put our faith in the natural cycles being able to overcome droughts and man-made disturbances. We were simply collecting seeds that Nature had done all the planting, farming, and caring for. Granted, my job depended directly and literally on the harvest of these ecosystems. Yet having this new, close-up perspective from this season allowed me to take to heart even more the lessons of optimism and resilience from plants.

I am truly grateful for this incredible opportunity I had to contribute to the cause of native seed collection, and to be a part of the CLM internship program and the New England Wild Flower Society. I’ve enjoyed every bit of it, and am excited to take all that I have learned with me into the future.

Here are a few pictures from the season that never made it into my posts – enjoy!

One of my favorite views at Great Marsh in Barnstable, MA – miles and miles of marsh.

Top of the sand dunes at Parker River National Wildlife Refuge on Plum Island – acres and acres of this view, it was stunning.

Small bayberry (Morella caroliniensis) was a tricky plant to collect from, but well worth it for the smell – definitely one of my favorites!

The boardwalk trails at Ponkapoag Bog (Canton, MA) through cedar and sphagnum moss forests

By far the most whimsical plant we ever collected – tawny cottonsedge (Eriophorum virginicum)

Botanist problems – having plants attack you when you just want some soup from the fridge… [keeping root stocks of switch panicgrass (Panicum virgatum) fresh to send to researchers at UNC]

Krista Heilmann

Seeds of Success East

New England Wild Flower Society

Framingham, MA

The seasons are changing here in Buffalo, since the last blog post we’ve been hit with our first large snowstorm, and there is a looming cold front soon to demand warm blankets and hot chocolates out of all of us. But I’ll be out of here before that hits! The last month or so has been filled with wrapping up the finishing touches on my seven or so month internship. Included in that has been assisting with rangeland health reports, NEPA documentation, and as always some GIS mapping. But, at last I am about to head on out of Buffalo. The last seven months have been both a blast and one heck of a learning experience. And no better way to expand on just how much has gone on this internship than one big ol’ list!

• Enormous amounts of new botany knowledge. From little to a lot in a short while.
• A Chicago Botanic Garden intern workshop. A week of lectures and learning. Also meeting the many other lovely interns. Not to mention all the coffee.
• Expansive training. A week-long AIM (Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring) training, 4×4 driving, UTV driving, CRP & First Aid, GIS training.
• 36 or so Rangeland AIM plots established and completed.
• GIS Mapping of fencelines, allotments, pastures, wells, reservoirs, etc.
• Microsoft Access database entry and report creating.
• NEPA documentation.
• Report writing.
• NISIMS (weed database) mapping.
• Environmental Education opportunities.
• Office filing.
• Fixing up of the Range Improvements Database
• Many other small but meaningful tasks.

And of course the fun stuff:

• A trip to Grand Teton National Park and Salt Lake City.
• A trip up to Bozeman, MT and Missoula, MT.
• Starting mountain biking.
• Starting to learn guitar.
• An outstanding time at a mountain festival know as Antelope Butte in the Bighorn NF.
• My first ever competitive trail running race.
• Many weekends spent camping.
• First time actually catching fish while fly fishing.
• First time seeing a moose.
• Yet another trip to Grand Teton National Park, with a short visit into Yellowstone.
• An outstanding trip to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP, Moab, Arches NP, Canyonlands NP, Zion NP, and back to Salt Lake.
• Visiting the lovely land of Nova Scotia.
• First time ever backpacking alone in the wilderness.

Boy, I am sure I am still missing some things. Overall it has been an incredible time and an incredible internship. My confidence in my abilities to be an ecologist, biologist, or who knows maybe even a botanist in the future has grown immensely. The list of skills gained is expansive, and so is the practical knowledge. For those wondering what Buffalo is all about, it is a small town, but it has its charm. If the city is all to go on then maybe the internship could be a drag (though I sure enjoy bluegrass jams at the local saloon), but with the Bighorn Mountains on your doorstep, and a fantastic office to work for it’d be hard to pass up the chance to take an internship here. The internship offered a large amount of freedom, which is perhaps a little daunting early on.  Though by the end you’ve realized that independence was a benefit. It challenged my fellow intern, Corinne, and I to plan our field season mostly independent of the staff here, a skill that is invaluable. Throughout this whole position I had felt as though I was a part of this office, both asking questions of the people around me, and having them ask questions of me. And now it is a little sad to be leaving, but with this internship under my belt I can now enter the unknown of 2017’s field seasons with confidence, with future grad/career opportunities beyond.

Farewell Buffalo!

Nick Melone

My second year as an intern for SOS East has come to an end, and its been a heck of a ride. I’ve done 571.5 hours of driving (just shy of 24 days), 308 hours of seed collecting (nearly 13 days), and 254 hours of seed cleaning (about 10.5 days). To say I’m sick of driving would be a huge understatement, but I’ve loved everything else. Well that’s not true, I don’t like dealing with the odd anal retentive land manager, or the absolute nightmare that has been Enterprise Rent-A-Car, nor have I been a big fan of the dreaded location details on our data sheets (all of you SOS interns out there know what I’m talking about).

But even with those annoyances, I can truly say I’ve loved being a part of something so dear to my heart. Not enough people care about the natural world the way I suspect all of us CLM interns, mentors, coordinators, etc. do, but it has been my mission over these past two years to help educate those that I encounter. My family is sick of me talking about seeds, my friends are tired of hearing that their beloved plants are invasive and need to be removed immediately, and I’m sure many of my friends on Facebook want to throw their phones into traffic each time I post another plant or seed picture on Instagram. I’ll be honest though, I don’t really care. If my annoying, persistent message reaches anyone, then that’s one more person on our side.

On a more drear note, just in these two years I’ve seen beautiful, natural areas go to pot. I’ve seen subdivision after subdivision built on what used to be pristine forest, grassland, or wetland – and of course, just to add insult to injury, they’re named “such-and-such Preserve”, “blah blah Reserve”, or “this-and-that Farm”. In addition, I’ve seen Phragmites growing in the woods, Lespedeza in crotch of a tree, and powerline corridors filled with the majestic Miscanthus sinensis. It’s sickening.

But at the same time, I’ve seen such passionate people working to reverse those trends. I’ve spoken to countless park rangers, land managers and lay people that all have a common goal. They want to see the natural areas around them become what they used to be. They want to educate the public and get younger people interested in the environment. They want more reasons for us all to come together for “the greater good”, and that’s not such a bad thing.

On the subject of meeting passionate and hardworking people, I’d like to give a shout out to my fellow interns from both years: Emily, Lauren, Maggie, Sammy, Melanie, and Caroline – it’s been a pleasure to work alongside each and every one of you. You each taught me something, plant related or not, and I wouldn’t trade the memories for anything. I wish all of you the best in your future endeavors.

I can’t wait to get back out into the field, be it for work or leisure. I know that this internship has affected me greatly and positively, and I feel that my place is definitely in Field Botany and Conservation Botany. I couldn’t think of a field I’d be happier in. Even to this day, with 2 days left in my internship, I can’t believe I get paid to do this!

Our last seed shipment… good luck CMPMC!

I’m gonna miss this motley crew!

Jake Dakar

SOS East – North Carolina Botanical Garden

It is hard to believe 6 months is already over and Seeds of Success is coming to an end. These past months have flown by, but they always say time flies when you are having fun. I wish time would slow down when you are having fun, but I guess it forces you to savor every moment. One of my favorite aspects of Seeds of Success has been having the opportunity to travel and get to know so many amazing national wildlife refuges, state parks and preserves, as well as, tiny, adorable towns I would never have visited. I have felt so lucky being able to set off and spend entire weeks exploring beautiful areas and spending time getting to know new plant species. It really makes you appreciate a well managed natural area and the effort it takes to keep out invasive species, maintain clean facilities (you would be surprised in the lack of water fountains, etc.), and manage trails.

While I had my doubts it could be done, my team and I managed to clean and package all of our seed from the end of the season. It is hard to believe I will not be seeing my team everyday anymore and will no longer get to enjoy the North Carolina Botanical Garden scenery. I feel so lucky I got to work in such an amazing place with such amazing people. It has been a great team building experience, learning how to work so closely with a group of people and going through all the ups and down of a season of field work.  We all managed to make it through the field season with our sanity intact and I am so grateful because every one of my team members has taught me something that I will take with me on my future endeavors. Seeds of Success has taught me so much and I am so grateful so this experience!

Me in my happy place!