In their own words

Through the summer-long Richard G. Rockefeller Internship Program, 11 college students gain work experience in land conservation at Maine’s local land trusts. After a week of training, interns devote nine weeks to hands-on work in the many facets of land conservation. Interns build trails, conduct research, steward conservation easements, engage with the local community, and contribute to communications, membership, and fundraising. At the middle and end of the season, we come together to reconnect, visit a conserved property, share stories and experiences, problem solve and provide input on the program. Here’s what year’s interns had to say about their experiences this summer.

Inland Woods + Trails

My name is Elizabeth Erskine, I am currently an undergraduate student at the University of New England studying Environmental Science with a minor in Marine Biology. I have been spending the summer as a conservation intern through the Richard G. Rockefeller internship program. My host organization is Inland Woods + Trails in Bethel, Maine. Having the opportunity to work with this organization has been an exceedingly valuable experience thus far, as I have been challenged with undertakings that are new to me and that simultaneously align with my interests and passions. Now being halfway through the program, I can already feel my skillset and outlook shifting as I continue to gain insight in trail work and marketing along with experiencing the intersections between them. This is exactly the sort of interdisciplinary involvement that I was looking for when I first became interested in this program. Having understood the fact that the innerworkings of any environmental organization need to work in tandem and work towards a wide variety of goals and values, I wanted to experience it firsthand.

I have really been enjoying the documenting process of trail building and maintenance, while also getting to participate and be a part of it all. I have gotten hands on experience with basic carpentry, a variety of hand tools, and some machinery operation, all the while growing my understanding of the process that goes into building resilient recreational trail systems.

Blue Hill Heritage Trust

My name is Casey, I’m a senior at UMaine studying Earth and Climate Sciences. My major, while related to the environment, is primarily an indoor field. Besides a few trips to collect samples, understanding the data comes from endless reading and long nights staring at screens. I signed up for this program to get my hands dirty, wanting to focus on the impact I can make right now, right in front of me. I was most excited for the opportunity of trail stewardship and trail building, with dreams of being a park ranger I had hoped this internship would build the skills that I need to take care of the land. And in the first half of the summer, those hopes have been met and exceeded. I’ve gotten to use tools and equipment that intimidated me, and I’ve learned and grown and succeeded at doing hard things I had no idea I was capable of. I’ve gotten to research ticks, critters I used to have a visceral fear of, and I’ve overcome that fear and hosted an outreach event to communicate all that I’ve learned and how to stay safe. I’ve built bridges, inventoried forests, bushwhacked through 4-foot blueberry bushes, poured over legal documents, fought invasive plants, attended fundraising parties, and have learned the nooks and crannies of coastal Maine’s ecosystems. Most importantly, I’ve gotten to know the most wonderful community that my trust serves, and I’ve made friends and memories that will shape the rest of my life.

High Peaks Alliance

Maine Coast Heritage Trust

I am Heiki Kuhrt, a geosciences major from the Skidmore class of 2027. I grew up in Southern Maine my entire life, and had seen some of the positive impacts that land trusts had on local trails and environmental education in Cape Elizabeth talking about local plants and wildlife, developing local trail walks, and the importance of preserving and maintaining Maine’s natural beauty.

I signed up for the Rockefeller internship program to better understand work in an environmental field. I am considering environmental consulting as a future pathway and this internship has similar aspects in field work, data collection, travel, communication and logistics. Through this program, I spoke with many MCHT employees to learn how they were introduced to land trust work, and the many different facets of the work that MCHT does.

As an employee for the marsh department, I helped record data for marsh vegetation plots to help monitor changes in marsh growth, and planted water loggers in Old Pond Marsh and York River Marsh. At Cousins River Marsh, I participated in a sparrow tagging work party for salt marsh sparrows and nelson sparrows, both of whom rely on the ever shrinking Atlantic salt marshes for nesting. As a side project of this internship, I have been using down time to study for the FAA Unmanned Aircraft General test to get certified to fly drones. This internship also came with the opportunity to help stewards build and maintain trails with power tools, such as a series of boardwalks at Blue Horizons preserve, a culvert at Woodward point, and weed-whacking campsites and paths on islands along the Gulf of Maine. This led to many interactions with tourists

This has been a fulfilling internship so far. It is satisfying to be doing mission-driven work with great people. Everyone in my experience has been helpful as coworkers and supervisors and super sweet as people.

Midcoast Conservancy

Hey, my name is Jordan Thompson. I am a rising senior at the University of Maine Orono, majoring in Wildlife Ecology with a concentration in Wildlife Management, where I am currently the vice president of the student chapter of The Wildlife Society. I am still developing and fine-tuning my areas of interest, but I really enjoy being outside, learning, and creating art. I am a stained glass artist, and most of my projects are an outdoor scene or an animal. When I approach a project that involves an animal or an outdoor scene, I like to learn about their life history and how they interact with their world. Sometimes I do this by spending time observing the animal before I start designing the project. Approaching art this way allows me to share how I view the natural world and hopefully allow others to see the beauty in the outdoors.

I was interested in this internship because it was an opportunity to work with a non-profit organization that is interested in conserving and protecting land. I was interested in spending much of my summer outside and tromping through the woods. I hoped that I would have many opportunities to see wildlife and learn more about the species I encountered as well as share that learning with others.

Since starting at Midcoast Conservancy, I have done research on Ospreys to determine best management practices for a campsite that shares an island with an active osprey nest. I have also developed a landowner educational resources page that is sort of a directory for landowners to find information on how to manage their land in a way that protects and creates wildlife habitat. This is still a work in progress, but the hope is to have this available on MC’s website for any landowners interested in learning who to connect with for advice on questions they may encounter when protecting habitat on their land. I also remade Midcoast Conservancy’s logo from glass to hang in the office. I wanted to do an art project this summer that meant something and I think this suncatcher in the office window will bring more people in the door who are curious about the organization.

I have learned how to create a sustainable trail that is resistant to erosion, organized volunteer trail crew days, learned what types of bridges work best in which locations through a reconstruction project, as well as done water quality sampling, and managed trails for public usage. I have done this with another intern, Russell from Bates College, and a wonderful group of staff and volunteers with Midcoast Conservancy, also the office dog, Kraken, who makes every day special! Overall, I am grateful for the opportunity to learn and share my voice with the world through this internship.

Royal River Conservation Trust

Hello! My name is Lanna Antebi and I’ve had the privilege of working with the Royal River Conservation Trust as their summer intern for the past few weeks! I am currently a rising Junior at Colby College studying Geology and English. I originally applied to the MCHT internship program because as an out of state student, I wanted the opportunity to get to know Maine in the summer while furthering my career and education in an industry I was unfamiliar but excited to get involved with.

Prior to the first day of my internship, I didn’t understand what a Land Trust was or how conservation easements work. Growing up in California, a majority of land in my home state is privately or federally owned, and I hadn’t ever heard of landowners entering conservation easement agreements. I’ve spent the last few weeks working closely with RRCT monitoring easements, building landowner relationships, participating in trail crew and solo-stewardship opportunities,and working to develop community outreach initiatives and some merch designs. And weed whacking. Lots of weedwhacking.

My favorite parts of the internship so far include weekly Wednesday Trail Crew with our community of volunteers and expanding our iNaturalist database. Community engagement initiatives, such as our Wescustago Paddle, have also been so much fun!  Above all, as a Geology student studying Geomorphology, I’m excited for the dam removal on the Royal River.

Center for Ecological Teaching and Learning & Other Conservation Organizations

My name is Pippa Jackson Sanborn, and I am one of the eleven Rockefeller interns this summer. I am a rising junior at University of Maine Orono, and I am majoring in Wildlife Ecology with a concentration in Wildlife Science and Management and a minor in Forest Ecology Science. This summer, I am working at the Center for Ecological Teaching and Learning (CETL) in Dennysville, Maine.

As a kid, I would often spend summers in the Downeast area, as my grandmother lived in Perry, next to Eastport. I’ve spent a lot of time in the Cobscook area as well, most recently for a wildlife ecology class. I’m very excited to be returning to an area I know so well and love so much.

As the first intern that CETL has had, there are a bunch of different jobs and projects for me to get done. I’ve reopened trails that were last cleared years ago, I’ve helped to map the trails, and in the coming weeks plan to make and install signage. I’ve also done a lot of work with birds; from doing early morning point counts, to recording bird songs, to setting up automated recording units (ARUs) in order to get a full list of the birds that are breeding here. So far our list is over 50 species!

I’ve also been spending time at other places, including Maine Coast Heritage Trust (MCHT), Downeast Salmon Federation (DSF), and Downeast Coastal Conservancy (DCC). At DSF, I spent two days learning about what it takes for land trusts to buy land or set up conservation easements in order to protect that land and its habitat, plants, and animals. We also did some risk assessments and a perimeter walk of a potential land parcel they are looking to buy. I haven’t gotten to spend a week at DCC yet, however I will mainly be helping with tread work and drainage efforts on many of their trails.

Other than CETL, I’ve spent the most time at MCHT where I’ve gotten to help clear new trails, replace bog bridging (pictured above), plan trail reroutes, perform maintenance work such as weed whacking trails, and help with community events such as a paddle on the Orange River and an upcoming trip to Treat Island.

All in all, this has been an incredible experience. I’ve learned a ton about stewardship, trail work, conservation easements, community outreach, and the sheer amount of work and effort by so many different people that goes into making sure that all of this beautiful land and important habitat gets conserved and protected, while also allowing the public to enjoy walks through nature and incredible views. Thank you so much to everyone I’ve worked with who has given me such great opportunities and so much new knowledge and experience!

Somerset Woods Trustees and Pierce Pond Watershed Trust

Hi everyone! I’m Quinn, the 2026 Rockefeller intern for Somerset Woods Trustees and Pierce Pond Watershed Trust. I have always had a passion for the outdoors, which is why I wanted to work for these partnering organizations. Land trusts do so much good for the community, and it has been such an amazing experience to work with everyone at these organizations. It has been such a great way to spend the summer. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be involved and able to spend the day outdoors helping keep our wildlands accessible and healthy. I have met so many kind and caring people in this field and made so many new friends. For anyone looking to get involved in the world of land trusts, I couldn’t recommend it more!

Mahoosuc Land Trust

Hello! My name is Rylee Homan. This summer I’m an intern at the Mahoosuc Land Trust thanks to the program assembled by the Maine Coast Heritage Trust. I’m going into my second year as an Ecology and Environmental Science student at the University of Maine. I grew up on my small family farm in New Jersey tending to the various animals that we had over the years: goats, sheep, pigs, and chickens. I was subsequently a member of the local 4-H youth development program. These factors along with my homeschool curriculum led to a deep passion for the natural world, which formed into a desire to understand and protect it. My goals for the future lay in the world of research and conservation, and I am eager to gain any experience possible in my future career. This is why I applied for the Richard G. Rockefeller Internship; I jumped at the possibility to gain real experience in the field and learn from those who were willing to teach me. Thus far, it has been an incredibly rewarding experience. I’ve gained a much better understanding of all the work that goes into conserved spaces, the effort in outreach programs, and the collaborative nature that underpins major projects and victories. I’m excited to see where the last few weeks of this experience take me, the knowledge I gain, and the connections that blossom. 

Scarborough Land Trust

Every time I start something new, I find myself worrying about being perfect. This goes for past projects, presentations, and internships. My first day with Scarborough Land Trust was no different. I had an unrealistic expectation, as I often do, that I needed to come into this experience knowing everything. And like I always do, I quickly found there was no reason to worry. Internships are meant to be a learning experience, because how else am I supposed to learn all of these skills? As I completed my first week I realised that other interns I was working with were just like me – learning as we go. 

My name is Sophie Koutalakis.  I  recently graduated (a year early!) from Shenandoah University in Virginia with my Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental and Sustainability Studies and  a certificate in sustainable business. I was born and raised in Maine, and I figured there would be no better way to spend my summer post graduation than in the state that raised me, giving back to the land and the community to ensure that others are able to enjoy nature just as much as I do. 

Over the past month, I have gained so many skills I would have never imagined gaining before. I can use power tools, chainsaws, weedwackers, build bridges, and identify an array of wildlife. Every week I become confident in a new skill that I feel will aid me in my future career working in conservation. My first two weeks included hard labor digging out bittersweet stumps, cutting knotweed, and braving patches of multiflora rose. Part of my job as a stewardship intern is making sure our trails are usable and safe for the public, so I weedwacked and completed trail sign audits in order to replace old signage. Later on I learned the ins and outs of bridge construction, and built bog bridges all by myself and learned how to seal wood with linseed oil.  

I think one of the most important things I’ve learned about is how to care for yourself while working outdoors. I feel like that part of conservation work is often forgotten about, but knowing how to keep oneself well while working is vital. I’ve learned that it’s okay to pace myself and take breaks when I need to. I also learn how to pay attention to the signals my body gives me, and drink and eat enough to fuel myself throughout the day. Maintaining good form during any physical activity I feel is often overlooked, but it is a game changer when lifting heavy water buckets or wood! Making sure I have good form has stood between me and injuries on days where I am doing strenuous work. 

Two of my favorite parts about my internship are the unpredictability, and my daily encounters with wildlife. I love the unpredictable side of conservation, because it means I get to do something new every day. And my days have become filled with wildlife observation, and I have even been able to release wildlife like groundhogs and beetles that eat the invasive hemlock wooly adelgid.  

I also have felt incredibly empowered as a woman, because often I have felt like people have underestimated my abilities due to my gender. But because of all the hard work I’ve done with Scarborough Land Trust, I feel like a strong, inventive, problem solver. I know I’ve always had these traits deep down, but it’s taken a summer of land stewardship for them to really shine through. I also feel lucky to have been put in a leadership position at times, helping volunteers through work days and helping to manage volunteer crews. 

I’ve never felt more connected to nature than I have this summer. I spend every day outside, rain or shine. I learn to observe the little things, like inspecting plants for hiding insects or surveying a section of land overtaken by invasives to develop an action plan. I’ve listened for birds, looked for groundhogs, and smelled sweet ferns. And the best part is, I now have so much more knowledge to share with everyone.

-Sophie Koutalakis