INTERN BUZZ - WEEK 7

Contributing Writer - Nina Shallal, Intern

We are in the final weeks of the internship and all the interns are beginning to acknowledge this somber fact by exchanging phone number and promises to stay in touch. Otherwise we are continuing to work in the field, maintaining Casey Trees-planted trees and helping with the Urban Forest Effects and Values (UFORE) Inventory.

On Tuesday we visited the U.S. National Arboretum to learn about the Urban Forestry examination and what it is like to work at the Arboretum. We also went on a tour of the Youth Garden which was filled with beautiful flowers and fruits, many of which we had never seen before. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and was able to give us amazing detail about each plant and fruit being grown. We were even lucky enough to taste some of the organically grown strawberries.

After our tour we created an accessible path around the Youth Garden using custom wood chips. We were thankful that the wood chips were several pounds lighter than the mulch we have been working with everyday. However, after an hour we began to feel the burn. Once the walkway was complete - four hours later - we explored the Asian tree collection which was unbelievable. When the day finally came to an end, we were all exhausted.

For the rest of the week it was business as usual with the exception of Thursday when Casey Trees hosted a press conference for the launch of the Water By-Cycle.

We are extremely proud of the work we have done thus far and look forward to the homestretch.