The Future of Conservation Is in Good Hands

Our 2025 Interns

In the summer of 2025, the Harris Center hired six interns from three universities (pictured above, with Bird Conservation Director Phil Brown) to work on a variety of conservation research and stewardship initiatives, from monitoring conservation easements to surveying nesting kestrels.

“A Once-in-a-Lifetime Experience”

From bat counts to salamander surveys, trailwork to tree inventory, the KSC internship program helps students apply their classroom learning to real-world conservation. (photo © Maya Carey)

This summer marked the twelfth year of the Harris Center-Keene State College conservation internship program, a paid summer intensive for undergraduate students in environmental studies, biology, and related fields at Keene State College.

Under the mentorship of KSC professor Karen Seaver and Harris Center ecologists Brett Amy Thelen and Nate Marchessault, four enthusiastic undergraduate interns — Keith O’Donnell, Parker Root, Grace Todd-Rogers, and Maya Carey (pictured above, left) — explored many facets of the Harris Center’s diverse conservation, education, and stewardship work.

Together, the team surveyed for vernal pools, measured trees, pulled invasive plants, checked trail cams, surveyed an emerald ash borer study plot, counted bats emerging from SuperSanctuary roost sites, tagged along on songbird and kestrel banding efforts, prepared a moose skeleton for the Harris Center’s teaching collection, assisted with educational events, maintained trails, and more.

“[This internship] opened my eyes to new experiences, challenges, and the ins and outs of fieldwork,” said Maya. “It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

For the Birds — and the Bats, and the Butterflies, and Beyond…

This summer, Forestry & Wildlife Intern Kate McKay has been working closely with Bird Conservation Director Phil Brown on a number of research and stewardship initiatives, including American Goshawk surveys, Wood Thrush and Broad-winged Hawk tagging, American Kestrel monitoring and banding, and Wood Duck nest box surveys. Kate also assisted with our Supersanctuary Butterfly Count, bat and monarch caterpillar counts, vegetation surveys, and boundary marking of protected lands.

“One of the jobs that I particularly enjoyed was working with American Kestrels,” says Kate. “While helping the researchers and bird banders collect data on the kestrel nestlings, I had the opportunity to hold the chicks in my hand. The chicks were very young, but I was still surprised at how docile they were. They also had the softest feathers ever!”

Critical Help With a Critical Task

Once a landowner has placed a conservation easement on their property, the Harris Center is responsible for ensuring that the easement terms are upheld, even if the property changes hands. In order to do this, we must conduct monitoring visits to all of our 130+ conservation easements each year.

Ilissa also had the opportunity to assist with our kestrel monitoring project this summer. (photo © Michelle Aldredge)

It would not be possible to complete this enormous and critical task without the help of hard-working interns Ilissa Sargent and Kate McKay, who were hired as this summer’s conservation easement monitoring interns. Together, they will have monitored more than 120 properties by summer’s end, allowing Land Program Manager Eric Masterson to focus on other critical land projects.

Easement monitoring is hard work, especially on hot, buggy days, but there are also perks. “It’s exciting to not know what you’re going to encounter in just one day in the field,” says Ilissa. “In the morning I can be in a mature forest on a ridge listening to Wood Thrushes, Ovenbirds, and Scarlet Tanagers go about their days. After that I can be rock hopping across a wetland admiring cardinal flowers or counting tadpoles.”

Ilissa also has an eye for fungi, slime molds, and rare plants. “I’ve found many favorites, like chicken of the woods and ghost pipes, but also a ton of new species…Some of my favorite finds are a coral fungus (subgenus Lentoramaria), Pinesaps (Monotropa hypopitys), a really eye-catching maturing dog vomit slime mold (Fuligo septica) complete with red liquified drops, and a painted trillium (Trillium undulatum).”

Meanwhile, Kate has a special talent for spotting dragonflies and bird nests while she’s out in the field. “Once, it was a Black-throated Blue Warbler nest with brown-speckled eggs in a young beech sapling only a few feet above the ground,” Kate explains. “Another time, it was a Hermit Thrush nest full of brilliant blue eggs, nestled among clubmosses on the forest floor.”

“Not only I am really honored that I was able to explore some of the most beautiful places in the region,” Ilissa adds, “but I’m also very proud that I’ve had even a small hand in helping to keep them that way for future generations (and interns).”

Thank You

The Harris Center is deeply grateful to all of our interns for their hard work and dedication. We couldn’t do what we do without them!