Every summer, a new crop of water resources interns bolsters the education and outreach teams of the Conservation Learning Group at Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. This year the group of five ISU students hail from Iowa, Illinois and Colorado. Joining the outreach efforts of the Water Rocks! youth education program at schools, camps and libraries; assisting with Iowa Learning Farms field days; and taking the Conservation Station trailers on the road to county fairs, farmers markets and city celebrations, the interns’ summer is full of activity.

“The enthusiasm for learning and educating audiences about Iowa’s natural ecosystems, environmental challenges, water quality initiatives and conservation, is energizing,” says Ann Staudt, Water Rocks director. “It’s always rewarding to see the lightbulbs go on and watch the interactions between the interns and audiences of all ages. The ability to ramp up school visits with the additional team members also aids us in making impressions on even more of Iowa’s youth.”

Jumping in during the last weeks of the K-12 school year, the interns join the Water Rocks team in delivering science- and research-based lessons through interactive classroom visits. These visits provide a great chance for the interns to learn while teaching, and to plant conservation seeds within the next generation of learners and leaders.

Alex McDougall, from Melvin, Iowa, is a senior studying agriculture and life sciences education at ISU. Her internship experience goes to the heart of her desire to teach. “The wetlands lesson is my favorite because of how excited and engaged the students become,” McDougall says. “It was so much fun to see them get excited about the lessons, and participate in hands-on science and activities.”

Summer activities

Crossing the state to visit county fairs and other events throughout the summer, the interns interact with a broad cross section of Iowa’s population and get to explore less traveled routes and rural areas.

Sarah Brackett of Cary, Ill., is a senior slated for graduation from ISU in December, with a degree in environmental science. She was surprised and delighted with the variety in her intern experience, noting, “I never expected to see so much of Iowa, or to have a chance to speak with so many people of every age. This experience has helped me be a better communicator with different audiences, given me a chance to learn more about field research, and made me more aware of conservation challenges and actions.”

The interns also assist ISU researchers with field studies and data collection. This summer, the interns literally got their feet wet traversing several creeks, surveying them for signs of beaver activity and taking creek bank erosion measurements.

Jordan Carr, an environmental science major from Eldora, Iowa, has had a lifelong passion for being in and around water that led her toward working as a water resources intern. Field research was new to Carr, and she had to don hip waders to collect creek bank erosion data. “It was very surreal to compare our measurements to previous data and see firsthand the extreme impacts that just one rain event can have,” Carr says. “Seeing the erosion along the creek clarified in my mind how important it is for conservation practices to be implemented, so that our water stays clean for years to come.”

Creek cleanup

When not assisting with data collection or outreach, the team went hands-on with cleaning up around College Creek on the ISU campus.

“The creek cleanup really reinforced the concepts that we stress in our school visits and public outreach. We need to keep the land clean, because everything on the ground eventually ends up going downstream and into our water.” says Mitch Harting, an intern from Jesup, Iowa, and an incoming senior in agricultural studies at ISU.

A staple of the summer outreach program is visiting county fairs. Setting up the Conservation Station trailers and interacting with people of diverse ages and backgrounds not only keeps the interns on their toes, but also provides some interesting and unique learning experiences.

Nathan Lewis is majoring in biological systems engineering at ISU and joined the team from his hometown of Pagosa Springs, Colo. “County fairs in Iowa are far larger and more involved than anything I had experienced at home in Colorado,” Lewis says. “This summer, I’ve seen more pigs and cows than I thought possible, and met countless people who care about and want to learn more about water quality and conservation here in Iowa. A favorite conversation about conservation tillage was with a farmer at the Jefferson County Fair. He shared his experiences, while I provided information on no-till. Even though I was the ‘educator,’ I think I learned as much as he did.”

“We love to watch the changes and growth these interns experience in just a few months and are certain that each will carry what they’ve done and learned this summer into their studies and careers,” Staudt says. “The water resources internship program is a true win-win that we hope to continue for many years to come.”

Ripley is Iowa Learning Farms manager and a Water Rocks conservation outreach specialist. To learn more about Conservation Learning Group visit conservationlearninggroup.org.