Meet the Interns!
July 28, 2023 1:15 pm
Each year, DOF hires interns for about two months to support our work and introduce students to the world of forestry. Read on to meet this summer’s interns and learn a bit about what their experience was like.
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- Evan measuring DBH for a stand assessment.
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- Evan poses with a large snag in a regenerating tract.
Interning in DOF’s eastern region this summer was Virginia Tech forestry student Evan R. During his internship, Evan joined DOF foresters to work on projects at several eastern state forests, as well as private forestland by assisting with stand assessments and writing management plans for private landowners. When asked what he gained from his internship, Evan said “I really enjoy meeting new people, so getting to meet professionals in the field I’m studying, as well as landowners to learn about their aspirations for stewarding their land was really neat. That and getting to practice hands-on, real-world forestry was a great learning experience.”
Abby T., DOF’s 2023 central region intern.
DOF’s central region intern this year was Abby T., who is also studying forestry at Virginia Tech. During Abby’s internship, she assisted with a prescribed burn monitoring project at Paul State Forest and worked alongside DOF field staff to provide services to landowners. Abby’s favorite part of her internship was getting to use forestry equipment including a bulldozer and bucket truck. “I learned a lot of things over the course of this internship, from how to operate a dozer, to what rust bacteria looks like, and all the ways DOF is supporting landowners and sustainable forests with its many cost-share programs. I also learned that I really like working under a flexible schedule where I might not know what tomorrow looks like,” said Abby.
Abby operates a DOF bulldozer on a recent prescribed burn.
Interested in working with us? Internships are posted in April or May along with all job openings on www.Jobs.Virginia.Gov.
Tags: Intern
Category: Education