Student Internships

Eli Zigas worked for the non-profit organization Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) in South Deerfield, Massachusetts. Eli worked to promote local food purchasing among a variety of local buyers. He also assisted in efforts to establish Town Agricultural Commissions across Western Massachusetts.

Daniel Lesh's internship took him to The Land Institute in Salina, Kansas where participated in research into the creation of a sustainable agriculture with the prairie as the model.

Katharine Smith worked with the Community Supported Agriculture (Established Internship) in assisting with the gardening activities and the distribution of weekly food allotments. She also worked with the Grinnell Area Local Foods Alliance in setting up the new Saturday farmers market.

Center for Prairie Studies
Student Summer 2003 Internships

Elizabeth Blair completed an internship at Full Circle Farm in Madrid, IA, working on their oak savannah project, an oral history on the farm, and other aspects of the farm operation.

Aeleka Schortman worked on the Arbor Lake Watershed project, focusing on community education efforts and worked with Judie Krebsbach .

Josh Rosenbluh worked on recycling initiatives with Imagine Grinnell Board member Liz Queathem, involving collaboration with the City of Grinnell and Grinnell College.

Erika Doot worked with the Community Supported Agriculture (Established Internship) in assisting with the gardening activities and the distribution of weekly food allotments.

Center for Prairie Studies
Student Summer 2002 Internships

Nicholas Wagner accepted a student internship with the Bishop Hill Heritage Assocation at Bishop Hill, Illinois. The colony of "Bishop Hill" was established in 1846 when Swedish religious radical Eric Jansson and a group of followers set sail for America and the promise of religious freedom. The town has gone through many changes over the years and is home to many invaluable artifacts and documents that relate a particularly unique story of the settlement of the Illinois prairie and the relationship of a human population to this land. Nicholas spent a large portion of his internship organizing and archiving the hundreds of historical photographs that belong to the BHHA. Nicholas worked primarily with Michael Wendel, the BHHA Administrator.

Sarah Barkley worked this summer as an intern at the Salisbury House in Des Moines. This magnificent 42-room mansion, completed in 1928, cost three million dollars to build and is not only an architectural masterpiece, but is also the home of an outstanding rare books and documents collection and a world class collection of art. During her internship, Sarah learned about the procedures for the upkeep of such treasures, and other aspects of how museums help with preservation of history. She be worked closely with Curator, Amy Rood.

Daniel Carter has a deep passion and appreciation for the tallgrass prairie. "The prairie is a dynamic living quilt that has much to offer," says Dan. That's why Dan views his internship at Diversity Farms as an incredible opportunity. He worked at their farms near Dedham, Iowa and other locations. He was involved with prairie burns and mowing, harvesting and cleaning seeds, and inventorying species. He also was involved in the process of reconstrucing a prairie from scratch. Diversity Farms grow and produce prairie seeds of plants on their farm for commercial sale. They also manage privately-owned prairie remnants in the Loess Hills.

Lauren Wright, Compass Plant C.S.A., Grinnell Iowa. Lauren writes, "In my internship with the Community Supported Agriculture program this summer, I learned about place and prairie, life and living, food and faith. My learning was both physical and cerebral: each week I helped Ann Brau pick vegetables for the weekly CSA pickup. In the course of picking and interacting with Ann (a veritable diamond mine of knowledge) I learned a great deal about vegetable production specifically and the occupation of agriculture more generally, and experienced first-hand the labors and rewards of growing food. Each week I assisted with the pickup itself out at the Dunham farm. Under the tutelage of Professor Jon Andelson I've delved into the literature that inspires the philosophy of the local food movement. In addition to all this, each week I visited prairies, interact with farmers and community members, and went on field trips. It was a summer of great and significant learning."

Devon McGranahan's internship was in the Jasper County NRCS office in Newton, Iowa, where he worked on the Rock Creek Lake Watershed Project with Keri Batterson and also learned about the government's role in soil and resource conservation. He writes, "I just finished my second year at Grinnell College, studying ecology, and I spent last summer working on our restored prairie, so I like to think I've started to understand some of the philosophy behind conservation, at least from the literature's standpoint. I come from a farm east of Spencer, Iowa, and I remember the NRCS man coming out with his wheel and giving us cost estimates on various seeding programs. This summer, I've observed the middle ground - the interface between the research and the application. My personal projects included developing a web site for the office here <www.jasperswcd.cdiowa.org>, creating educational materials for Rock Creek Lake, identifying and documenting prairie remnants in Jasper County. Rock Creek Watershed Project, Newton, Iowa.

Center for Prairie Studies
Student Summer 2001 Internships

The internships sponsored in the Summer of 2001 were given Richard Mankhey to work at Grinnell College and Conard Environmental Research Area; Kristin Grote to work at Tillers International at Kalamazoo, MI; and to Justin Torrence to work at Missouri Botanical Garden.

Center for Prairie Studies
Student Summer 2000 Internships

G. Anthony Smith, whose internship consisted of independent research on the history of folk music in Iowa, and was supplemented by working one day a week at the pioneer farm at Living History Farms.

B.J. Bloom worked at Living History Farms. His final research project was entitled, "Land Use and Governmental Policy in Iowa During the 1930s and 1940s."

Andrew Nelson worked on two projects. One was a case study analysis of small farming in the Upper Midwest. His paper was entitled, "From a Lifestyle to a Business, Small Farming in Transition." For his second project he constructed a web page on wind energy.