My NRCS internship experience By Ben Morse

My name is Ben Morse, I am working for the Natural Resources Conservation Service(NRCS) and this is my internship experience.

I am a soon to be senior at the University of Arizona, majoring in Environmental Science. I am originally from Chicago, Illinois but have been living in Arizona for the past 3 years and am 21 years of age.

Three things I hope to get out of the internship are one, this internship can at least put me 1 step closer to my dream job. Two, gain the experience needed to mange my own land that way I can own my own farm. Three, this internship also leads me into owning my own non-profit organization.

The past two weeks have been filled with a combination of outdoor(field) work and indoor(office) work.

A lot of work...

While out in the field I got to practice methods of diagnosing trees in forestry like removing this conch from a sick Douglas Fur tree.

As well as measuring the diameter of different plots of trees, this one is in North Fork, Montana. What a beautiful view of the glacier mountains we have here!

Over the past few weeks I've developed a handful of skills such as how to lead a team into a forrest and prescribe the land. How to make a good impression on clients such as farmers, ranchers and private land owners. As well as how I as an individual can make a meaningful contribution to a community that thinks differently than I do.

Here's a demonstration of myself(middle) measuring a Douglas Fur tree so that we can learn how to diagnose trees. That way we know which ones to cut down and which ones to leave. I learned an important skill in working with a group and that is listening, if I can listen I can get the job done quicker and more efficient.