Duke Forest Office and Field Operations Internship

Timeline

2025

Description

Affiliated programs: Green Devils Intern Program, Duke Forest

Summary 

The Duke Forest is a 7,000+ acre teaching and research laboratory spread across three counties in central North Carolina. It supports dozens of research projects, serves as an experiential learning classroom for hundreds of students, and provides recreation opportunities to thousands of visitors every year.  Managing such a large land base with multifaceted objectives can be a challenge, and the main responsibility of the Duke Forest Green Devil was to increase the capacity of the Duke Forest staff by supporting land management activities and community outreach events. Key activities included trail maintenance and invasive species removal, supporting Duke Forest’s Field team, and cataloging recent publications, supporting the Duke Forest’s Assistant Director of Teaching and Research. Through these efforts, this project contributed to Duke’s sustainability mission by maintaining green infrastructure that supports regional biodiversity and carbon storage and ensuring the efficacy of the Duke Forest as living laboratory for climate research. 

Goals

1) Assist the field team with long-term projects such as preparing timber sales, and daily projects such as trail maintenance.
2) Shadow Duke Forest staff while providing educational content and lead tours independently

Experience and Learning Outcomes

This project was part of the year-long, paid Green Devils internship program managed by the Office of Climate and Sustainability. The work for the Duke Forest Green Devil varied seasonally. In the fall, the student intern gained experience managing for wildlife and ecosystem services by monitoring Natural Heritage Areas, doing surveys on State Species of Greatest Conservation Need, and enforcing forest closures as part of the Deer-Herd-Reduction Program. In the winter, they furthered their understanding of sustainable timber production by assisting with the layout and cruising of final harvests and improved foot trails along New Hope Creek. In the spring, the student removed invasive species along forest floodplains and trimmed trees along roads to ensure continued access to remote parts of the forest. Additionally, with regards to supporting community outreach events, the student intern assisted with the logistics of forest tours and developed a better understanding of how to mobilize volunteers to support science and stewardship. Overall, these hands-on experiences strengthened their understanding of how forest management supports biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and community engagement and equipped me with practical and professional skills that will support his future career in natural resource management.  

Recommendations

Student Interns: Edward McDonald

Intern Supervisor: Lee Anne Reilly, Assistant Director of Teaching and Research, Duke Forest. Tom Craven, Forest Supervisor, Duke Forest