We all say it all the time “I can’t believe it’s already _______” insert -Thursday, June, Fall, ect. I say it all the time. I hear other people saying it all the time. Time keeps going, this is no surprise. What we don’t always realize is that as time is blazing by how much we are growing and changing.

During my six months at this internship I have had the opportunity to try out many different roles- pollinator garden design, environmental education, trail maintenance, visitor services, interpretive program instructor, and I know I am forgetting so many more. Doing all these different things has been a great opportunity for me to try them out and ask myself how I felt about it. Prior to this I had not had much experience with any of these things. I feel grateful for all of it, even the things that turned out not to be quite for me. I have learned a lot more about myself in just six short months. 

Speaking of growing and changing- We planted our pollinator garden mid June. I put up the picture of how it looks one week after planting, but I am astounded at how much it is growing and changing every week. I feel incredibly proud and satisfied with how it turned out. Some of the wild petunias have already bloomed this year. I plan on coming back to check on it in the future. 

I was really able to see the changes in the garden when I was gone from the office for a week at the Nebraska Master Naturalist program. The training was amazing, and surpassed my expectations. We were a group of about 17 people- some already working for state agencies similar to mine, some artists, some volunteers, and community coordinators with our natural ecology in mind. We would have two topics per day, where we would work with an expert in the field. Typically spending a small session inside getting background followed by in the field learning. Some of the topics- Herpetology, ichthyology, entomology, geology, ornithology, wetlands, aquatic invertebrates, and environmental ed/interpretation.

Getting this overview of these topics with a specific focus on our local area was incredibly helpful- we get so many questions at our visitor center about these things. Going forward I will be linked to this wonderful community with an annual membership, the only requirements being to accrue some volunteer time. It is a great way to link up different agencies and the community! I am so glad that I was able to attend. 

This internship has been a really good opportunity, but not only for giving my resume a boost. It has been a time for personal growth and learning to help guide me to what types of positions I would like to find myself in down the road. It is very important to me to work towards roles where I can grow, and apply myself to the greatest of my capabilities and despite these last six months flying by I now find myself more confident in that direction.

Agency: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Program: US Fish & Wildlife Service

Location: DeSoto and Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuges