Kripa Harper

October 17, 2014

Summer on the Connecticut River: Internship with The Nature Conservancy

This summer I had the opportunity to work as an intern with The Nature Conservancy’s Connecticut River Program in Northampton, MA. As one of the primary interns, my responsibilities ranged from office work to collecting floodplain forest data and analyzing soil samples in the UMass lab. Floodplain forests are extremely important to our ecosystem; however, with the growing tampering of the Connecticut River, many of these floodplains are becoming endangered and are being wiped out. Therefore, one of the main components of my internship included studying endangered floodplain forests neighboring the Connecticut River and collecting soil samples from these forests to better understand how agriculture and development might be impacting the floodplain ecosystems. Along with collecting soil sample data, I also monitored elms that had been selectively planted in previous years due to their genetic resistance to Dutch Elms Disease - a disease that has devastated the elm population in recent years. Through my internship, I have learned how to successfully conduct field research and data analysis, and have gained a deep respect for the work and dedication involved in protecting endangered ecosystems.