Being selected to represent the CLM internship and my seed collection team back at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden this past week at the 37th anual Natural Areas Conference in Osage Beach, Missouri was a unique and enriching opportunity for me to connect with professionals in the land management field. The conference brought me back to the Midwest in time to see fall colors still clinging to the trees in the Missouri oak woodlands. The conference was held on the scenic Lake of the Ozarks with opportunities to explore Missouri’s natural areas through various field trips. I went with a group of ecologists and land managers on a trip out to one of Missouri’s few remnant prairies where we learned about prairie chicken conservation, prairie management with fire and grazing, and seed collecting on the prairie. We went out with some botanists who showed me the wealth of grasses and forbs that were still in bloom late in the fall.

Talks and presentations at the conference covered a wide range of subject matter related to land management and conservation including invasive species, fire ecology, land restoration, and forest, prairie, cave, and wetland ecology. There was even a talk about the flora and invasive species of Jordan in the Middle East. During the conference, I connected with several professionals in the land management field throughout the Midwest including my home state of Michigan. Getting to see what types of ecological research are going on in the region has since motivated me to work hard towards gaining employment in the botanical field around Michigan or Wisconsin so I can return to the deciduous forests of my childhood.

Missouri was a phenomenal location for a conference based on natural areas, with a wide diversity of ecosystems to explore. The area was pleasant as well, with wholesome food and friendly people, a nice change from everyday life in the Los Angeles area. The people I met and experiences I had at this conference further convinced me that a career in the land management field would get me in contact with the type of people I could spend a lifetime working with towards the bold cause of preserving our nation’s natural areas. In closing, I would like to thank the CLM internship program for getting funding and sponsoring us interns to attend this conference, which was my first professional conference.

Drew Monks

Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden

Claremont, CA