Internship with Monteverde Institute in Monteverde, Costa Rica - Reforestation
What is LINK?
Part of the mission of Animas High School is to prepare its students for the world we will emerge into when we pass through the doors of the school for the last time our senior year. Wherever we go after high school, work ethic will be an essential skill, and Animas cultivates that in it's students by requiring a 90-120 hour internship. This internship is designed to help us, as students soon to be entering the world of adults, to experience what a full time job is like. We are given three weeks off of school in the spring of our Junior year in order to fully immerse ourselves in the experience with the help and guidance of a mentor, a professional whatever career it is each student chooses to explore.
What is Monteverde Institute?
Monteverde Institute is a non-profit organization in the cloud forest of Costa Rica that focuses on public service, education, and protecting the environment. Their mission is to "advance sustainable living at the local and global level through place-based education, applied research, and collaborative community programs".
Link to the Monteverde Institute Website - https://monteverde-institute.org/
Link to the Monteverde Institute Website - https://monteverde-institute.org/
Anticipation and Preparation
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Contributions and Work
While working at the Institute, I primarily helped with research. At the time, they were working on collecting data from studies that have been ongoing over the past 15-20 years about fatality rates and health of trees that were planted in reforestation efforts based on certain variables (soil, wind, slope, maintained vs. not maintained, etc.).
For each “plot”/group of numbered trees planted at the same time, we collected the following information:
My “project” was editing and adding to a manual detailing different trees in and around Monteverde. This included each of their scientific names, common names, specific information like where they could be found and planted, etc.
For each “plot”/group of numbered trees planted at the same time, we collected the following information:
- Height in cm
- Number of leaves
- Diameter at breast height
- Percent of damage and reason for said damage
- Whether is had lichen, bryophytes, or epiphytes
- Other notes
My “project” was editing and adding to a manual detailing different trees in and around Monteverde. This included each of their scientific names, common names, specific information like where they could be found and planted, etc.
Reflection -
Coming into LINK, one of the most helpful skills was being able to jump right into a task that I hadn’t done before pretty quickly. My experience working on a ranch last summer helped me with this, as I was doing lots of different tasks every day. For example, during LINK one of my main tasks was to record information on trees of different species in a spreadsheet. I was able to identify species at a glance in the first couple of days in the field, and picked up the process of collecting data right away. Being able to differentiate between plant species that were new to me was also made easier because it was a skill I practiced as a guide at the ranch. An attribute that was useful for my internship experience was my adaptability. This was strengthened over the past year with the challenges that COVID presented. I believe my adaptability grew even more through my internship experience.
A skill that I developed during my internship was online research. When I was working on the field guide I had to do extensive online research to verify information in the guide. Some of the sources were in Spanish, so I also developed my translating skills and reading/writing in Spanish using context clues. Communication skills were very important in this setting and I was challenged by my limited ability to understand and speak Spanish, but I think this challenge ultimately led to growth in my confidence. It was difficult for me to have confidence in my conversations with Costa Ricans speaking Spanish...etc.
I contributed to the Monteverde Institute by providing assistance on several projects during a time when they were lower on staff and interns than usual because of the COVID pandemic. The Institute has a well-established internship and study-abroad program for college students, but this program was basically on hold for the past year. Normally those interns would be working on the projects that I worked on. Because I was younger than the typical intern/student, I brought a different perspective to the work. As I was one of the youngest interns to work there I demonstrated that high school interns could be successful at the Institute.
The internship experience helped me broaden my career interests. In the past, I’ve been more interested and focused on humanities-related topics and careers, and this experience showed me that I really enjoy field science. The travel experience increased my sense of independence and confidence. Expanding my comfort zone in this way will help me as I make college decisions this coming year, and will contribute to my success during the next chapter of my life as a college student.
A skill that I developed during my internship was online research. When I was working on the field guide I had to do extensive online research to verify information in the guide. Some of the sources were in Spanish, so I also developed my translating skills and reading/writing in Spanish using context clues. Communication skills were very important in this setting and I was challenged by my limited ability to understand and speak Spanish, but I think this challenge ultimately led to growth in my confidence. It was difficult for me to have confidence in my conversations with Costa Ricans speaking Spanish...etc.
I contributed to the Monteverde Institute by providing assistance on several projects during a time when they were lower on staff and interns than usual because of the COVID pandemic. The Institute has a well-established internship and study-abroad program for college students, but this program was basically on hold for the past year. Normally those interns would be working on the projects that I worked on. Because I was younger than the typical intern/student, I brought a different perspective to the work. As I was one of the youngest interns to work there I demonstrated that high school interns could be successful at the Institute.
The internship experience helped me broaden my career interests. In the past, I’ve been more interested and focused on humanities-related topics and careers, and this experience showed me that I really enjoy field science. The travel experience increased my sense of independence and confidence. Expanding my comfort zone in this way will help me as I make college decisions this coming year, and will contribute to my success during the next chapter of my life as a college student.