My Summer at Western Foothills Land Trust
August 18, 2023 | Caring for the Land | Land Stewardship, Internship Program
Hello, my name is Joshua Berry, and I am a recent graduate from the University of Maine. I majored in wildlife ecology with a concentration in wildlife management. I first learned about Maine Coast Heritage Trust last summer when I had the opportunity to volunteer and help clean up Sheep Island. It was a great experience and it led to me applying for the Richard G. Rockefeller Internship this summer!
For the
past couple months, I’ve had the privilege of working with Western Foothills Land Trust as a stewardship intern.
Over the summer I’ve worked on multiple projects, my largest project being boundary line monitoring on all of Western Foothills’ fee-owned properties. This project has shown me a how a land trust maintains its properties.
During the internship, I also worked on a two-day boardwalk repair project which allowed me to improve my carpentry skills and provide more access for locals who love walking that trail.
Another project I led involved planning for
a large pollinator garden that will hopefully be planted this fall.
Perhaps my favorite project has been helping Western Foothills to redo their maps on their brochures. Using GPS to map out our brochures allowed me to see many of the beautiful properties.
The largest event I worked on was the Norway Triathlon. Through this incredible event, I was able to learn about the fundraising side of land trusts. I also learned how important community support is for land trust. The triathlon brings people together to work something bigger than themselves, and that’s one of the best things about working for a land trust.
Ultimately, it has been a blast helping out at WFLT because I have learned so much about land trusts, and the great people that run them.
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