Last time I wrote, I was about to leave for the CLM workshop in Chicago, so that feels like the right place to start off this blog entry. In short, it was awesome! The workshop was such a great experience for so many reasons. I really enjoyed getting to meet my fellow interns, the workshop information was great, I got to explore Chicago a little bit, the Chicago Botanic Garden is breathtaking, and to be honest, the food they provided was pretty amazing! The workshops included monitoring & inventory methods, plant identification, conservation genetics, and Seeds of Success training.

That’s me being super touristy on the Sky Deck at the Willis Tower.

Being in the mid-west again gave me a little taste of home. Seeing the dense green vegetation of the woods was a sight for sore eyes. I’m absolutely loving the southwest, but I have to admit, I do miss my forests back home.

The amazing Carol Dawson helping us to identify plants on the CBG grounds.

Honestly, I could spend another week at the Chicago Botanic Garden. It was amazing. Between the green houses and the expertly curated gardens, there was just so much to see, learn, and appreciate. I can’t wait to go back! I told my husband we need to go when I get back home.

I wish I had caught the name of this beauty, but I was too distracted taking pictures of it.  This was in one of the many greenhouses. I just think it is breathtaking.

Getting to meet the other interns was one of my favorite parts of the workshop. Being surrounded by biologists was pretty wonderful. I enjoyed listening to what they’ve been working on and where they hope their career takes them. I made a lot of acquaintances, but also built some solid friendships. Here’s an awesome group of ladies with whom I got to make some great memories.

Kayla, Erin, Ginny, and me exploring the gardens together.

I had no idea I was going to find my twin in Chicago! Not only did Kayla and I own the same outfit, we happened to wear it on the same day. Needless to say there was a lot of laughing and a friendship quickly emerged.

To wrap up the week-long workshop, we got to attend the Janet Meakin Poor Symposium and learn about large-scale ecosystem restoration efforts.

The speakers took questions at the end of the symposium.

While Chicago was great, it was nice to get back to the grind and back into the field. We were welcomed back to Utah by four fledgling prairie falcons. I can’t put into words how incredible it was to watch as those young birds learned how to fly!

Two of the 4 prairie falcons at the nest. They would go to the edge, flap their wings to strengthen their flight muscles, squawk a lot, and more often than not, chicken out and hop into their cavity. Eventually though, we got to see all of them fly!

We had been working on completing a general wildlife/raptor monitoring and inventory project in a PJ (pinyon pine/juniper) and sagebrush dominated community before we left, and were able to join the rest of our team and finish that up. Since then, Zach and I have been balancing report writing and collecting native seeds for the Seeds of Success (SOS) program. We have had the opportunity to partner with two fellow CLM interns from a nearby town for in-the-field SOS training. Sam and Ellie showed us around and helped us to identify the particular species we’re interested in collecting in Utah. While I am very happy to be a wildlife tech, it has been nice to work on my plant identification skills and enjoy the laid back process of seed collecting.

Eating lunch and learning plants with Sam, Ellie, and Zach.

The beautiful Sego Lily (Calochortus nuttallii). While looking for some of our target SOS species I stumbled upon this wonderful flower, which happens to be the Utah state flower!

Last but certainly not least, my most recent exciting experience has been prairie dog capture and relocation training. I was able to train with the local Department of Natural Resources and learn to capture, sex, weigh, handle, and ear-tag the Utah prairie dog. Since this is a threatened species, there is an effort to partner with landowners who do not want them on their property and relocate them to a new, suitable area. I will be getting to work more on this project in later in the year and I can’t wait.

I’ll leave you with this photo of the adorable little Utah prairie dog.