Sarah Barney, UK Biology Department: "This summer I had the opportunity to work with Dr. David Westneat and his PhD student, Dan Wetzel, of the Biology Department. Dan and I studied cognitive foraging ability, as well as its relatedness to parenting ability in House Sparrows. I assisted in netting and banding birds, taking measurements, and recording trials which tested the cognition of the birds." 2011 Poster Award Recipient

Leslie Russo, UK Department of Forestry: “This summer I had the privilege of working with Dr. Mary Arthur's fire ecology crew.  We measured and characterized overstory trees, as well as sprouts, in plots subjected to different prescribed fire regimes in the Daniel Boone National Forest.  Dr. Arthur's research investigates the impact of prescribed fire on oak seedling success, stand structure, and fuel loading in upland oak forests on the Cumberland Plateau.” 2011 Poster Award Recipient

Chase Clark, UK Department of Landscape Architecture: "This summer I worked with Dr. Brian Lee to complete an accuracy assessment of the National Land Cover Database 2006 (NLCD2006) for Kentucky. My primary responsibilities included the interpretation of reference data, accuracy determination, and report writing." - Not pictured

Morgan Barnes, Jefferson Memorial Forest: “This summer I had the opportunity to work as a camp counselor at Jefferson Memorial Forest in Fairdale, KY. My main duty was to educate children about various aspects of the environment. This included studying ecosystems in ponds, streams and lakes by identifying the plant and animal species.” 

Eliza Bodkin, Life Adventure Center of the Bluegrass: “Late this summer, I was given the opportunity to work as an intern at the Life Adventure Center of the Bluegrass. For eight weeks I worked as the environmental education/horticulture intern; my main responsibility was to work in a teaching garden, where I maintained and developed the garden for current and future educational programs.”

Jonathan Durbin, Salato Wildlife Education Center: “This summer I interned at the Salato Wildlife Education Center. The center is located in Frankfort, Kentucky at the headquarters for the KDFWR. My responsibilities included conservation interpretation, invasive species removal, updating the State Record Fish Exhibit, planning and constructing the outdoor Eastern Box Turtle exhibit, assisting with educational programs, and educating guests on various critters.”

Kris Gorton, Salato Wildlife Education Center: “I worked for the KDFWR Salato Wildlife Center as a wildlife interpreter. My main duty was to interact with the public and educate them on various topics related to wildlife management. I was assigned a project in which I designed a mammal exhibit that they will be implementing in the future.” - Not pictured

Eric Hope, Office of Surface Mining and ARRI: “This spring I worked alongside Dr. Patrick Angel of the Office of Surface Mining and the Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative (ARRI) throughout Eastern Kentucky on reclaimed mine sites. I was able to network with professionals in several fields while helping educate people on reforestation in Appalachia and planting hundreds of native trees.”

Byron Johnson, Kentucky Geological Survey: "This Spring semester I had the pleasure of working with Jim Currens and Jim Dinger at the KY Geological Survey to help set up a groundwater monitoring system at the KY Horse Park and to trace and locate water conduits that connect to the Cane Run and Royal Spring."

Kristi Meier, Louisville Metro Parks Division of Natural Areas: “This summer I had the opportunity to work as a park assistant for the Louisville Metro Parks Division of Natural Areas. My main responsibility was removing invasive species from the Clifton Heights Greenway so that plans could move forward to develop the property into a community nature sanctuary. I also aided in conducting preliminary water quality assessments for the Jefferson Memorial Forest property.”

Tyler Miller, Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association: “My internship involved working on salmon recovery efforts in Alaska with the Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association. The first week of the internship was orientation at CIAA headquarters. The rest of the time I was in the Alaska bush country with one other intern to capture salmon and collect data. My internship was a great experience and I really enjoyed my work. I would really recommend working with CIAA for an internship.”

Casey Muncy, Sustainable Harvest International: “I completed my internship with Sustainable Harvest International in Belize. I was afforded the opportunity to provide hands-on assistance to local farmers by helping them construct raised gardening beds, compost piles, and providing seeds and chicken wire. I also assisted on the construction of solar composting latrines and solar dryers for families in the village.”

Eric Rego, Marine and Costal Resources Research Center, Thailand: “This summer I had the opportunity to do my internship in Thailand. Two institutions gave me the support needed throughout my stay there: Maejo University in Chiang Mai and the Marine and Coastal Resources Research Center in the southern region of Thailand. I worked with Dr. Krasindh while in Chiang Mai. I travelled to the Gulf of Thailand to work with the Coastal Resources on an introduction of a coral species in Koh Kai Island. After that, I spent most of the time in the lab identifying corals and learning more about coral taxonomy with Dr. Ninphon.” 2011 Poster Award Recipient

Shawn Rice, LFUCG Division of Environmental Policy: “In February, I started an internship with Lexington Fayette Urban County Government in the Department of Environmental Quality and Public Works. I was assigned to the Division of Environmental Policy, where my responsibilities included developing and facilitating several projects for the Environmental Initiatives and Outreach & Education Branches of the DEP.” 2011 Poster Award Recipient

Aaron Ross, Wolf Run Wildlife Refuge: “I did an internship at Wolf Run Wildlife Refuge, which emphasized the rehabilitation of injured and abandoned wildlife.  My time was spent providing care for animals such as wolves, lions, cougars, deer, and bobcats.  I aided in the recovery of abandoned fawns and the release of adult deer. I would suggest this internship to people wanting a better understanding of exotic species and of the process in rehabilitating wildlife.” - Not pictured

Eric Schulte, Camp Earl Wallace: “This summer I worked at Camp Earl Wallace, a children’s conservation camp located on Lake Cumberland. I was a camp counselor to a new cabin of campers each week. I taught classes on gun safety, nature, outdoor survival, motorboating, canoeing, and fishing.”

Sam Sosa, UK Biology Department: “This summer I worked as an Animal Husbandry Technician here at the University of Kentucky under Dr. Brent Palmer in the Biology Department. I was responsible for taking care of endangered and common species of turtles and tortoises.”

Drew Stevens, Daniel Boone National Forest: “This summer I worked as a Back Country Ranger in the Daniel Boone National Forest in Kentucky.  During my time there I was able to work in endangered species monitoring, restoring the impacts of recreation, and the protection of cultural resources.” - Not pictured

Dylan Williams, Daniel Boone National Forest: “For the summer of 2011, I worked for the Forest Service at the Cumberland District’s Backcountry Ranger Station at the Red River Gorge.   As an intern I would conduct social routes, which consisted of clearing trails, enforcing camping regulations, and keeping data on visitor use for each trail. I also assisted on other special projects. It was encouraging to know what I had learned would be applied to jobs in the future; it was a great learning experience.

Alex York, Division of Mine Reclamation and Enforcement: “During summer 2011, I had the opportunity to work for Camille Lane and Richard Wahrer at the Division of Mine Reclamation and Enforcement in Frankfort. I worked on the Cumulative Hydrologic Impact Assessment (CHIA) project. My duties were mainly data entries; however, I did shadow different DMRE people in the field.”