To complete the citation checklist for the Science and Global Change Scholars program, every student is required to complete a practicum which takes the form of a research project, service learning project, internship, or an organized school course run by the scholars program. Though there is an endless amount of creative avenues and options to choose from when deciding, it is important to pick a project that you have some level of interest in as you will be working on it for a minimum of 35 hours. I have a strong interest in gardening and environmental science so an internship at the University of Maryland Arboretum Outreach Center seemed like the perfect choice. Located right here on the UMD College Park campus, this internship was not only convenient for someone living on campus, but it was also a fun way to connect with my fellow students and faculty.
To apply for this internship I went onto the Arboretum website volunteer tab and reached out to the listed email for more information. I was then informed of the different internships they offered and picked the Conservation Landscape Internship to apply for because it most closely correlated to my interests and skills. I attached my resume, and a simple cover letter expressing my interest to an email, and sent it to the Arboretum. From there, I was connected with Meg Smolinski, who became my internship supervisor. All students will need to acquire a supervisor who will be watching over them for the majority of this experience so it is important to converse or meet with any potential individuals you are considering before starting, to ensure that you are comfortable working together. With Meg's help, I was able to smoothly transition into my role at the Arboretum and learn the ropes of my day-to-day activities.
Many of these activities were focused on, or related in some way to the topic of sustainability in landscaping and the agricultural practices used in our green spaces such as the community gardens, McKeldin Mall, and almost all other green spaces across campus. Thus, I performed duties such as maintaining the community learning garden through weeding, watering, and planting new seeds, leading volunteer groups through these same tasks, creating fliers for community events, compiling educational activities for kids, and even gathering research on sustainability initiatives on campus.
Through this wide range of projects and research, I learned so much on a personal and scientific level. From the scientific perspective, the hands-on time I had in our community learning garden allowed me to piece together my understanding of the interspecies relationships ecosystems are built upon, and the nutrient cycling that occurs from the moment a seed is placed into soil, to the day it unfortunately dies and begins to decompose. This hands-on aspect of the internship also made me realize how important understanding agriculture is to the livelihood of our society. Though I previously understood the value and need for farming, and harvesting crops, working up close with the vegetables and herbs grown on campus and donated to food pantries gave me a greater appreciation for this practice. From a personal perspective, my internship also helped me improve my leadership skills, gave me greater confidence in myself as a result of the independent work they allowed me to do, and taught me how to network and create stronger social connections with those around me through interacting with a wide variety of people. Aside from these practical skills, I was also able to learn about bird identification and have now greatly improved my skills in plant identification as well.
In the end, this internship became an unforgettable experience that not only left me with greater knowledge and personal skills but actually influenced me to volunteer at the community learning garden again in the future, and to potentially take environmental policy courses at my local community college to further embrace this interest. Overall I would recommend any scholars interested in learning about sustainability on the UMD campus or gardening in general, to look into this internship opportunity because it is such a fun hands-on experience that will leave you with lasting benefits and memories!