The people whom I met and worked with were so nice. I have also visited Bernheim before and fell in love with it and found my love for hiking there.
What I wish was different
I don't have any complaints or anything that I wish would have been different.
Advice
To treat it as if it were your real job and not just an internship. By doing this, you will surely reap all of the benefits.
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One person found this helpful
Natural Areas Intern
May - August 2019 • Clermont, KY
What I liked
I got to work outdoors and learn a variety of skills related to different things, I was around a small group of people with different skill sets and I was able to use my skillset to do an independent project. I felt satisfied and humbled that I was able to do work that directly benefitted the ecosystems I worked in, and see lots of interesting and beautiful things along the way. I made friends and learned skills that will benefit me down the line, and I had lots of time to think about potential future projects and research ideas.
What I wish was different
Communication within the Natural Areas Department was noticeably lacking, which was at times frustrating, and made some projects more difficult than they needed to be. Bernheim is also a non-profit that tries to handle a lot of different projects at one time; they have an education dept., an artist in residency program, a horticulture department, and an edible garden to manage, so sometimes Natural Areas got lost in the mix. I wish that I would have worked in an organization doing research that was specifically dedicated to land conservation, even though the variety of opportunities at Bernheim did enrich my experience. I also wish I had the opportunity to get involved with more research projects, because there were some projects but not all of them were related to my interests.
Advice
I had to email and call the hiring manager a bunch of times to get hired and thought I was being annoying, but I was not, so do not be afraid to be assertive and ask for what you want.
