A Summer with the Land Trust: Internship Reflections from Anna Weber
This summer, Georges River Land Trust is fortunate to host an intern from Colby College through their Buck Lab program. Anna Weber, born and raised in the watershed, is a wonderful addition to the land trust team, spending most of her time at Langlais Art Preserve and using her creativity, talent, and passion for the environment to assist with broader community engagement projects. We are thrilled she will be continuing to work with the land trust part-time, remotely from Colby this fall.
Below is Anna's reflection on her summer so far with Georges River.
Hi! My name is Anna Weber, I’m from Union, Maine, and I am a rising sophomore at Colby College. I’m double-majoring in Environmental Policy and Science & Technology Studies, and it is through the Environmental Studies department at Colby that I learned about this internship opportunity!
What interested me the most in working with the Georges River Land Trust and Langlais Art Preserve this summer was the fact that this internship seemed to incorporate just about everything I was looking for – the opportunity to work outside, with children, in an office, and with a group of people who are all mission-driven and enthusiastic about conservation and art. I have found all of these things within this internship, and I am incredibly thrilled to be gaining experience in environmental conservation through Georges River Land Trust.
In terms of what specifically I do at Georges River Land Trust and the Langlais Art Preserve, I am a bit all over the map! When I began working this summer, one of the first tasks I was assigned was helping install the Forest Geometries sculpture project along the Langlais Art Preserve’s new nature trails. Other trail and outside work that is asked of me includes monitoring the nature trails and nature camera once a week at Langlais, as well as gardening. In addition to this, I assist with Wonder Walks and Art Adventures, which are two children’s programs that have been running throughout the summer.
On the community engagement front, I have created resources, planned activities, and done advertising in the area to foster involvement. In the office, I have spent time researching the Indigenous history of the land that Georges River Land Trust maintains, editing the Langlais Art Preserve website, and collecting and organizing data from feedback surveys.
Working for the land trust this summer has helped shape my idea of what education and work I will pursue following undergrad, and given me beneficial experience in the world of a non-profit and conservation-focused organization. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be here and am looking forward to potentially continuing with Georges River Land Trust and the Langlais Art Preserve part-time while I am in college in the fall!
Lovely reflections, Anna. The way you describe getting hands-on with the land trust really resonates - it reminds me of the quick breaks I take between projects, usually a few rounds of sled rider to reset my head before the next task. Thanks for sharing such a grounded account of the internship.
What a thoughtful reflection — a summer spent with the Land Trust is such a grounding way to learn how a landscape really works. Anna’s notes on stewardship and patience stayed with me, and they reminded me of the quiet focus I look for in my own free afternoons, which lately means a bit of time with wave rider. Thanks for sharing this.
Anna’s reflections on a summer with the land trust really resonate — hands-on conservation work teaches patience in a way reading alone never can. When I tidy up fieldwork notes, I usually run them through a markdown to text tool so they stay plain and easy to share. Thanks for such a thoughtful write-up.
Anna's reflections really capture how much hands-on conservation work teaches you. Between my own outdoor projects I have been unwinding with drive mad 2, a fast browser racing game that is a nice way to reset after a long day outside.
Thanks for sharing this — Anna’s reflections on a summer with the land trust are genuinely inspiring, especially the part about seeing conservation work up close. I have been winding down after long reads with noillirk daily game, and it pairs nicely with a slower, more thoughtful pace. Great piece!