28 Jul My First Week as an Intern
First week as a boulder accessible outdoor experiences intern
Hi, my name is Nolan Blanchfield. I am an Accessible Outdoor Experiences inter in Boulder, Colorado. I have lived in Boulder for 7 years, and hiked in many parts of the county, but never understood the ecological side of Boulder very well, so beginning this internship was very exciting for me. Here’s the highlights of my first week of the internship.
First Day in the office and Butterfly Party
On Monday, I went to the local EFTA office for the first time, and got to meet the amazing staff there. After completing some paperwork, I decided to birdwatch just outside the office for a little while, familiarizing myself with binoculars and bird identification, since I had never birdwatched before. Over the course of the next half hour, I spotted several birds, and was able to identify a female House Sparrow and a male American Robin. After that, the office had a party, and a Monarch Butterfly conservationist spoke to us about the species.
Research, Education, and More Birdwatching
Tuesday through Thursday, I worked from home, engaging in several tasks. I spent some time doing research on Boulder’s various parks and open spaces, using guidebooks and the Birdability website, to figure out which ones would be suitable for people with vision impairments. Also, on Thursday, I attended a webinar about workplace inclusivity, and learned many things about it. In addition to those 2 tasks, I spent some more time birdwatching, spotting several more birds, including the beautiful Red-Winged Blackbird.
Walden Ponds Natural Reserve
On Friday, I joined my supervisor and my two fellow interns at the Walden Ponds Natural Reserve, where we were given a tour of the park office by one of its rangers, Dave. The office and its storeroom were fascinating! After the tour, the five of us went on an informative walk, and we learned about both the history and the ecology of the park.
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