The Internship

           Durango Nature Studies is a non-profit organization dedicated to involving the community in nature and science. They focus quite a bit on younger children, with most of their programs focused on children that are younger than 11. They are dedicated to hands on learning, using their 140 acre property to teach many classes. They also work with Fort Lewis College Archaeology Field School. They support naturalist led hikes, Earth Day celebrations, field trips, internship programs, summer camps, and training for teachers and naturalists. In short, their main goal is to foster a connection and relationship with nature in our community. As I said, Durango Nature Studies tends to do this work through engaging the children and families of the community, but also has programs that cater to other groups.

            For the first week, I will be shadowing Sally Shuffield, because both of my mentors have to take a Wilderness First Responder certification class. Sally Shuffield is the Executive Director of Durango Nature Studies. My mentors for the rest of the internship are Klancy Nixon and Allison Smith. They are both program coordinators at Durango Nature Studies. They both share a love of teaching and the environment. Because I have had difficulty finding other information on the Internet, and also have had difficulty contacting my mentors, I know little else about them. I understand that they are committed to the group, the environment, and the children of our community.

            I would like to grow up to do something in the applied sciences. I want to do something with science connotations, but in a manner that is applicable in the world, and is not just pure research. This internship piqued my interest because it involved engaging others in science. I have worked with children before, through Devo, but teaching is an interesting aspect of the science field that I have yet to explore. I hope that this internship will give me a bit more clarity about what possibilities in the science and environment- related fields there are, and what I may want to do later in life. Durango Nature Studies will provide me the opportunity to work with people who are passionate about the environment, teaching, and independent non- profit work. The opportunities are much wider and more varied than I could have hoped, and so I look forward to working with my mentors.

            Durango Nature Studies is looking into the possibility of creating a program designed to reach out to middle school students. At this point, Durango Nature Studies has programs for children through 5^th grade, and some adult courses, but there is little outreach to the middle school age group. They suggested that, as my project, I could draft the curriculum, so that if they choose to begin the program, they already have a baseline curriculum to go off of. This would require looking at the middle school requirements for science in Colorado, as well as speaking to the middle school teachers in Durango, so that the curriculums align. This contributes to Durango Nature Studies, because this is a program that they were already thinking of creating, and I could help jumpstart that. It benefits the community because we are drawing yet another group into science and involvement with nature. Ultimately, we would hope to help students understand better now, so that when they grow up, they have more involvement and interest in the natural world in general.

            Because I have spoken very little with my mentor, I am not sure what research this will require before the internship. I will certainly have to look into how to create a curriculum that is engaging and informative, because that is something I have never done before. At this point, I have done little research into curriculum requirements, or ways to write curriculum. I don’t know what I would be looking for, as I am not sure what the focus of my program would even be yet.

            The biggest problem I have encountered thus far is an inability to contact anyone. It is becoming a bit of a problem, because I am really unable to write a fully fleshed out proposal without speaking to my mentor first. I plan to speak to Rachel about this issue, as well as go to the website of Durango Nature Studies and looking for a phone number or alternate way to contact this group. Also, I feel that I cannot move further with my project ideas until I can have a conversation, or possibly even a meeting, with my mentors.

            In conclusion, I feel a bit uneasy at this point, because of the lack of contact. However, I am rectifying that problem, and I feel that I was able to come up with a fairly reasonable proposal despite these difficulties. I am quite excited to learn about my internship further, because I feel it will be a great opportunity for me!

More information will follow as the internship is finalized.