Each summer, we welcome several interns and and short-term assistants to our education and research programs. The extra hands make a huge difference in keeping numerous scientific studies on track, as well as delivering a quality experience for our summer campers. It's wonderful to have an influx of new personalities bringing fresh ideas to the reserve. August always comes too quickly.

Education Program

Amanda Bailiff returns for a third summer as summer camp coordinator. Since last summer, she’s been working with special needs students in the Michigan school system (and has been to New Zealand and back for a delayed honeymoon). Amanda came to us initially in 2016 after seven years at the Binder Park Zoo in Michigan. Amanda studied zoology at Michigan State University and is as enthusiastic as ever to be returning to the reserve.

Cacildia (Cassie) Cain will be our summer camp assistant. Cassie is a recent graduate from Brandeis University, where she majored in both environmental studies and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies. She spent one semester last year studying climate change in Iceland (alongside last summer’s Camp Assistant, Mitchell Miller). She worked at Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge last summer as an outreach intern.

Believe it or not, Cassie was a summer camper at the Reserve herself, way back when, and says that her experiences in camp here helped to spark her interest in environmental science and shape who she is today.

Research Program

Grace Fuchs is a Hollings Scholar and rising senior in the environmental studies program at the Honors Tutorial College of Ohio University. Her studies have focused on environmental justice issues of coal mining and fracking in Appalachia.

Larissa Holland is a rising junior at Smith College, majoring in both environmental science and policy (ES&P) and architecture, with a focus on sustainable rural community development. Larissa is originally from Jonesboro, Maine, and credits Washington County for fostering her passion for sustainable and equitable community growth.

Jessica Woodall is a junior at Washington College in Maryland, where she is majoring in environmental science with minors in biology and anthropology. Jessica works as an apprentice at her college’s GIS lab, specializing in environmental mapping projects.