Derek Caskey, UK Plant Science and Soil Sciences
“This research project examined the effective weed management of coupling no-till organic soybean production with cover cropping systems.  Organic soybeans were planted, along with soybeans in adjacent replications.  Five treatments will be performed on each replication consisting of weed control through two weeks, four weeks, six weeks and eight weeks.  The purpose is aimed at analyzing the performance of no-till rye (cover crop) compared to the conventional-till rye (cover crop), in each of the weed treatments.  The research project was fantastic and provided me with experience in the field of research and sustainable agriculture.”

John Grider, UK Department of Forestry
“This summer I had the opportunity to work with Dr. Mike Lacki and Joe Johnson in the UK Department of Forestry.  There study was on the Rafinesque’s big-eared bat and took place in Mammoth Cave National Park and the Ballard Wildlife Management Area.   Along with their research I did an independent project at the Ballard Wildlife Management Area determining important roosting sites of the Rafinesque’s big-eared bat.”

Kevin Handel, UK Plant Science and Soil Sciences
“In southeastern Alaska, logging activities (road building and clearcutting) are seriously modifying wildlife habitat.  For my research project, I studied a variety of scientific reports and data that gave insight into the complex relationship between clearcut logging and the rare ecosystem components of southeastern Alaska. I then integrated this information into recommendations for improved harvest methods and guidelines that are likely to benefit the surrounding wilderness.”

John Walker, UK Environmental Toxicology Lab
“This past summer I had the pleasure of working with Mr. Ben Brammell and Mr. Andrew Wigginton from the UK Environmental Toxicology Lab to help investigate the number of macroinvertebrates present in streams surrounding the gaseous diffusion plant located in McCracken County, near Paducah.”

Jill Allen, Wolf Run Wildlife Refuge
“During the fall semester I was able to conduct my internship at the Wolf Run Wildlife Refuge in Nicholasville Kentucky. I worked along side with staff with daily cleaning of living habitats as well as feeding and water all the animals throughout the facility. It was a great opportunity to see how non-profit organization operate and function from day to day.”

Sandy Broadus, Squire Boone Caverns
“I worked as an intern at Squire Boone Caverns in Indiana. I was a tour guide and a shopkeeper for the pioneer village, working in the soap shop, bakery, candle shop, gristmill, and rock shop.  I spent a lot of time educating the public about how caves form, karst topography and geology, and current conservation issues such as White Nose Syndrome in bats.”

Sarah Falin, UK Beyond Coal
“For my internship I worked with the UK Beyond Coal Campaign, which is facilitated by the Sierra Club. We started last semester to try to move UK away from coal as its primary energy source. We raised awareness, had petitions signed, and held events to stimulate interest in the community.  We formed a student organization and had an amazing turnout of students who are interested in helping. With the retirement of President Todd our objectives may change a little. It will be interesting to see where things go.”

Stratton Hatfield, Naboisho Conservancy, Kenya
“I did an internship on the Naboisho Conservancy in southern Kenya this summer. I was employed by an organization called African Impact which operates an environmental volunteer program.  I worked specifically with helping volunteers conduct big cat research and monitoring as well as carry out game counts.  It was a phenomenal and memorable experience.”

Eleanor Sydney Henschel, Anne Arundel County Dept. of Planning & Zoning, MD
The Chesapeake Bay is Maryland’s greatest natural resource. My task was to use GIS to map all marinas in Anne Arundel County, and determine the economic impact of the marine industry. These data will further be used in conjunction with the construction of a sea level rise plan and planning and zoning policy.

Heather Jordan, UK Biology Department
“This summer I interned for Sarah Stewart, a PhD student in UK's Biology Department.  Sarah is studying signaling and male quality in Indigo Buntings at Miller-Welch Wildlife Management Area in Madison County, Kentucky.  I assisted Sarah in capturing birds, taking blood and feather samples, evaluating nesting sites and recording songs.”

Thomas Kuhlman, Floracliff Nature Sanctuary
“This spring I had the opportunity to work at the Floracliff Nature Sanctuary. I focused mainly on invasive species removal with various other projects peppered throughout. These projects included making land management maps in ArcGIS, environmental education tours, water quality testing, and native plant restoration.”

Derrick Lawrence, USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service
“This summer I worked for the USDA-NRCS office in Hopkinsville. I spent the summer making GIS maps of farms, doing field visits to plan conservation practices, and insuring that the practices were completed correctly. Overall this was a great experience that helped me learn new skills and also polish up on some of the other skills that I had not used on a regular basis.”

Charles Lowe, The Arboretum – State Botanical Garden of Kentucky
“I worked with for Jim Lempke, Curator of Native Plants at the arboretum this summer. I assisted Mr. Lempke in a small study of native and invasive plants, along with a brief study of Japanese beetles and their life cycle. I removed invasive species such as winter creeper, amur honeysuckle, and mulberry. I did trail maintenance in the arboretum along with other special maintenance activities (pruning and mowing) in areas around trees, fences, and the wetland area where larger mowers might damage vegetation. Because the summer was dry, I mulched and watered trees, ferns and other exhibit plants.”

Trevor Marsh, White River National Forest
“This summer I worked as a Wilderness Ranger for the White River National Forest in Colorado.  My main duties were to maintain and patrol the trail systems within and around the three Wilderness areas in the Eagle and Holy Cross Ranger Districts in central Colorado.”

Ben Parrott, ECO-CELL
“I am completing an internship with ECO-CELL, a Louisville-based business that keeps harmful e-waste out of landfills via recycling. My role consists mostly of being the voice of ECO-CELL on the internet and doing company research.  I maintain a weekly blog of environmentally sustainable living tips, green technology information, and awareness of the benefits of cell phone recycling. I also work with our 103 AZA partners (zoos, aquariums, animal parks and refuges), coordinating cell phone collection, fundraising, and public awareness.  Lastly, I work in the ECO-CELL warehouse sorting/processing collected phones for shipping and recycling.”

Caleb Switzer, Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association
I did an internship with the Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association and spent six weeks in the Alaskan backcountry collecting data on salmon smolt leaving a mountain lake as part of a large salmon recovery program.  I traveled to Kenai, Alaska to collect data on migrating salmon populations, mainly Coho and Sockeye. 

Rick Wagner, UK Wildcat Wheel Bicycle Library
“I developed an educational workshop series teaching safety and maintenance for UK's Wildcat Wheel Bicycle Library. I taught workshops on sustainability, safety, and simple maintenance, while also working as a bicycle mechanic in the bike shop.  Bringing people into the world of bicycles is a great joy for me and this was a wonderful experience.  Wildcat Wheels asked me to return for the Fall Semester to bring the program to fruition which it has!  Now I teach two different workshops every week and hopefully that will increase!”