The Colorado Natural Heritage Program (CNHP) is thrilled that our Siegele Conservation Science Internship Program is being featured today in an article celebrating Colorado State University’s successful State Your Purpose Campaign! This ambitious campaign has now raised a billion dollars for education and research 651 days earlier than the original 2020 target date. More than 113,000 donors contributed to make this a reality. CNHP is incredibly fortunate and grateful to have been a part of this success story. To learn more, please read the article here. Below we have reproduced the portion of the article discussing the Siegele Conservation Science Internship Program’s impact on the students who have participated. From all of us in the CSU community we truly have a billion reasons to say thank you!
The Siegele Conservation Science Internship currently supports six students every summer to work on projects through the Colorado Natural Heritage Program, part of the Warner College of Natural Resources. The Siegele internship program was launched in 2016 and has received more than $125,000 in support to date.
Students in this program have the opportunity to take part in activities like a bioblitz, where they help to conduct a rapid species inventory, typically over a 24-hour period, in a national park or natural area. During a bioblitz, scientists make observations and teach students about study methods as they all gather data.
Kira Paik, a recent CSU graduate and former Siegele intern, said taking part in the program was incredibly valuable.
“It not only provided us with the opportunity to get experience in the field conducting research, but it also provided us with funding, which is not always the case for internships,” said Paik, who is now working with Colorado Parks and Wildlife. “The data I was helping to collect also became my honors thesis. The program taught me important field techniques and proved to me that fish and wildlife is the field I wanted to go into.”
David Anderson, chief scientist and director of the Colorado Natural Heritage Program, said the donor support for these internships has “transformed” the program.
“We have realized what a gift it is to have students helping us in the field,” he said. “Their enthusiasm and curiosity are really infectious. It’s changed us in ways we didn’t even expect, this process of bringing young, enthusiastic people into the conservation world, connecting them to the amazing wonders of Colorado, including all the rare plants, rare animals, and all of our natural heritage.”
Kira Paik, a former Siegele intern, now works with Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Photo: Rob Schorr, CNHP Staff.
