Two
of last summer’s interns, Jessica Kopala and Helen
Reinold, came back for another summer of clearing
brush and cleaning owl poop. I know, it’s hard to believe.
Their
work was not easy. Nothing puts the HOT in a summer day quite
like feeding a burning pile of buckthorn. In
the process of burning one pile, all three of us got poison
ivy. It was the first time for Helen and Jessica. Talk about a hands-on
education! Thanks
to their efforts checking on the fences and the trails, I was
able to work on five new museum-quality signs for our
raptor displays. Both Jessica and Helen gave the early drafts
of the signs’ copy a thorough and valuable proofreading, Helen
left us in mid-July to take a course at the University of
Berlin before returning to Augustana College for the fall
semester. Jessica is back at Eastern Michigan University.
Optometry is the career she is focusing on.
Each
day, as I check on the trails and feed the birds of prey, I
think to myself, "Boy,
were we lucky they worked at Stillman this summer."
By
now, many of you have received our annual appeal for
donations. (If
not, click on "Become a Member.")
Some
groups, like the Countryside Garden Class and Little
Garden Clubs, have made generous contributions to
our intern fund. If helping students like Helen and Jessica
appeals to you, just put intern fund on your check’s memo
line.
Thank
you.
