Congratulations to our Spring 2025 Natural Resource Management interns - Ryan, Claudia, Kayla, Kaitlyn, Thaleia, Hannah, and Chloe - who completed their semester-long internship at ACT. Over the course of 15 weeks, the Natural Resource Management Interns collectively gave 1182 hours of their time to ACT. With their help, they were able to work on many projects on ACT preserves, including
treating tropical soda apple
prepping firelines on a burn unit
planting wiregrass and longleaf pines at Little Orange Creek
treating lygodium and reducing sweetgum midstory at Santa Fe River Preserve
treating caesar weed and coral ardisia and maintaining trails at Prairie Creek Preserve
treating coral ardisia and camphor and reducing hardwood midstory at Saarinen
removing hardwood midstory at Fox Pen Preserve
building a trail
removing barbed wire fence
reducing midstory at Santa Fe Springs
treating coral ardisia at Blue’s Creek Ravine Preserve
treating invasive trees and removing barbed wire fence at Orange Lake Overlook
They learned how to use tools like chainsaws and brush-cutters and hone in on their plant and ecosystem ID to complete these projects. They also participated on 10 prescribed fires, 7 of those being on ACT property, and helped our Conservation Steward Awards go smoothly!
Additionally, interns were able to meet and work with a variety of natural resource professionals and gain some diverse conservation experiences. They completed a Forestry day with Cameron Mitchell, learned how to write prescriptions for fires with Rachel Townsend, dug a grave with the Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery, met up with a variety of professionals who work with private landowners at a meeting hosted by FWC, looked at cave crayfish with biologist Paul Moler, learned about plants with Ross Barreto, and participated in a grant-writing workshop with our associate director, Heather Obara.
We are looking forward to welcoming our Summer 2025 interns mid-May and will be opening up the applications for the Fall 2025 semester at the beginning of June. Fall 2025 applications will close the first Friday of July (Friday, July 4th). The Fall internship will run from the last week in August through the first week in December. For more information on the Natural Resource internship, check out our website: If you have questions about the Natural Resource Management Internship, please reach out to Amy Compare (amy@alachuaconservationtrust.org).
ACT’s intern programs are supported by people like you, who see the value in providing the next generation with the tools, experiences, and skills to steward and conserve land. If you would like to support the growth and development of young natural resource professionals, consider donating to the Internship Fund In Memory of Ryan Crowder & Julia Reiskind.
