Over the past several weeks, a team of UVM student interns have been deployed around Burlington working to harness the power of nature to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Working together with local nonprofits as part of a new summer internship in the UVM Department of Plant Biology, they have seen first-hand how tackling a major global problem can start with local solutions.
The new, four-week intensive internship, PBIO 290: Nature-based Climate Solutions, combined both internship and service-learning methodologies, while enabling students to earn summer course credits. College internships are foundational for experiential learning, providing students with opportunities to explore potential careers and develop practical work skills. Service-learning, which connects classroom learning with community service or problem-solving, is another method for students to deepen their understanding of course content through practicing civic responsibility.
Plant Biology Senior Lecturer Laura Hill developed the course to engage students in local community projects that address issues in sustainability and the environment, specific to climate change mitigation and adaptation using plants.
UVM Plant Biology Lecturer Laura Hill (left), hands out wild senna seedlings for students to plant along the riverbank.
"The service-learning style of class offers opportunities for students to apply scientific theories, broaden their perspective, and develop professional skills through experiences that mutually benefit the community partner and the local community,” said Hill, who developed the program with funding from a new “One UVM” Internship Enhancement Initiative. “I am hopeful that students will develop a sense of agency through the internship and understand that they have the skills to be an active part of solutions to large global issues like climate change."
On a larger scale, nature-based climate solutions range from protecting intact ecosystems, restoring ecosystems such as wetlands to sequester carbon, improving land management practices for crops, livestock grazing and lumber, and other practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These solutions can translate locally to restoration of riverbanks and wetlands, increasing pollinator habitat and mitigating the impacts of ground pollution.
Psychological science major Avery Gilgallon said, "being part of this internship has given me a renewed sense of place in the Burlington area. We have made connections with the land, plants, and all sorts of people. The time to act to save our planet has never been more necessary and the projects we have been implementing are attempts do just that and it feels great to be involved."
In the classroom, Hill engaged students in a variety contemplative (i.e., mindfulness-based) practices, such as writing reflection, guided meditation, nature observations in the field, and centering/ grounding practices. She acknowledged that "the power in slowing down allows us to deepen awareness and think more carefully and critically."
In the field, students took part in a variety of priority projects with their local partners the Intervale Center, and Burlington Parks, Recreation and Waterfront. Projects included enhancement of pollinator habitat at the Tommy Thompson Community Gardens; invasive plant species removal along the Winooski River and riverbank stabilization with native plants; sunflower seed give-away for lead-contaminated soil remediation; and working with students from Champlain Elementary School on wetland plantings and restoration.
Students working in the Tommy Thompson Community Garden pollinator habitat area.
Intervale Center Natural Areas Stewardship Coordinator Duncan Murdoch, a community partner for the internship, stated, "it was an absolute pleasure stewarding the land with the students. It is critical in my view that we care for the land as a community and I’m so happy that we could share in this experience."
The final project presentation, which included a research-based group presentation on the community projects, allowed students to reflect on what they learned. Presenting to an audience of community partners, community-engaged scholars, and community volunteers, each group discussed how they connected ecological concepts they learned to the applied work in the field, reflected on the community engaged aspects of the projects, and how the nature-based solutions they applied will mitigate climate impacts.
Murdoch reflected on the students' presentations saying, "I was struck by a reflection from one of the students at their (final) presentation. She spoke of her feelings of overwhelm and helplessness with the state of the planet and the current climate crisis and compared it to the local experience of standing in front of a huge patch of invasive plant species. But when she began to pull the plants one by one with her classmates, she discovered that those feelings of despair began to transform into feelings of hope and even joy. I’m summarizing her account, but I can really relate to what she was speaking about. The land is asking us to come together and re-join the natural community. Indeed, stewarding with these students brought me hope and joy and I am so grateful for their interest and love for this land."
Source: https://www.uvm.edu/news/cals/student-service-learning-nature-based-climate-solutions
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