Environmental Studies - In the Field
Field Opportunities at Grinnell | Internships | Career Opportunities | Alum Trips
Field Opportunities at Grinnell
In Iowa Conard Environmental Research Area (CERA) is a superb facility that supports many of Grinnell's field courses. Its 365 acres of rolling topography, located 10 miles from campus, include 150 acres of restored prairie grassland, 100 acres of riparian and upland forest, a 14 acre lake, a half mile of the North Skunk River, nearly 15,000 native trees and shrubs, and a permanent field laboratory. In Belize and Brazil Students who are interested in environmental studies often assist their professors with research. During the past fifteen years, dozens of students have accompanied Prof. Campbell on summer trips to the Brazilian Amazon and Belize to study patterns of diversity in tropical forests and in coral reefs. Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS) South Africa OTS Costa Rica Associated College of the Midwest (ACM) Costa Rica Marine Biology Laboratory - Semester in Environmental Science ACM Oak Ridge National Laboratory In the spirit of enterprise that informs Grinnell, students are encouraged to create their own off campus internships and research opportunities; the environmental studies concentration supports internships on a competitive basis. Many students also participate in campus organizations such as the Eco-Campus Committee.
Field Opportunities at Grinnell | Internships | Career Opportunities | Alum Trips | Top
Internships
Every summer, with support from the Ann Smeltzer Charitable Trust, the Environmental Studies Concentration at Grinnell College awards qualified sophmores and juniors with internships, of up to $3,200, to conduct research in environmental studies or to work at organizations dedicated to the field. The internships are highly competitive. For further information, contact the Career Development Office at Grinnell College.
| In 2010: | Toby Cain (‘12) An agricultural inventory of Chaffee County, CO, Guidestone Colorado Buena Vista, CO. Phyllis Frimpong (‘12) Environmental education outreach, Desert Research Foundation, Windhoek, Namibia. Corinna Keeler (‘12) Feasibility of satellite imagery to monitor cover change, Wildlife Conservation Society, New York, NY. |
| In 2009: | Claire Dooms (‘10) Environmental restoration, The Great Basin Institute, Reno, NV. Hart Ford (‘10) Fragmentation of tropical forests, Las Cruces Biological Field Station, Puntarenas, Costa Rica. Alexander Reich (‘11) Epiphyte diversity, Rio Bravo Conservation Area, Belize and San José de Payamino, Ecuador. Marlene Salgado Ferrer (‘11) Sea turtle conservation, Centro Ecologico Akumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico. Nilesh Wickramanayake (‘10) Monitoring municipal water quality, Battelle Corporation, Pune, Maharashtra, India. |
| In 2008: | Lu Bain (‘09) Grassland management, UNDP Country Office Support Unit, Beijing, China Michelle Fournier (‘09) Censuses of reptiles and amphibians, Instituto Clodomiro Pacado San José, Costa Rica Emily Lynam (‘09) Habitat restoration, Puget Creek Restoration Society, Tacoma, WA Lucy Schiller (‘10) Habitat restoration, Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, Fort Bragg, CA |
| In 2007: | Sirui Cao ('08) Threatened species used in Chinese traditional medicine, University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China. Johanna Krukowski ('08) Sea turtle conservation, Pacuare Nature Reserve, Costa Rica. Britta Nordberg ('09) Behavior and ecology of three-toed sloths, San Carlos, Costa Rica. Indrani Singh ('08) Population genetics of Clarkia xantiana. Dept. of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. |
| In 2006: | Chantalle Clarke ('06): Marine surveys, Coastal Zone Management Authority, Belmopan, Belize. Sarah Fowler ('08): Ecological surveys, the Lake Atitlan Basin Project, Guatemala. John Guittar ('07): Survey of the botanical diversity of Yucatec Maya pastures, Cayo District, Belize. Trymore Magomana ('07): Conservation management, Klipkop Game Reserve, South Africa. |
| In 2005: | Sarah Batterman ('06): Mopan Maya, Kekchi Maya and Garifuna House Gardens, Toledo and Stann Creek Provinces, Belize. Freeda Brook ('07): Attraction Retreat, Bellingham, WA. Chantalle Clarke ('06): Mopan Maya, Kekchi Maya and Garifuna House Gardens, Toledo and Stann Creek Provinces, Belize. Jisoo Kim ('07): Mote Marine Laboratory, Sarasota, FL. Dan Lesh ('05): Mopan Maya, Kekchi Maya and Garifuna House Gardens, Toledo and Stann Creek Provinces, Belize. |
| In 2004: | Sarah Batterman ('06): Bilsa Biological Station, Esmeraldas Province, Ecuador. Julia Bradley-Cook ('06): Natural Resources Group, City of New York Parks & Recreation, New York, NY. Mark Gardiner ('05): Institute for Fisheries Management & Coastal Community Development (IFM), Hirtshals, Denmark. Presha Rajbhandari ('05): Green Seal, Inc., Washington, DC. |
| In 2003: | Katie Casas ('04): International Cooperative Biodiversity Groups (ICBG), Panama City, Panama. Sarah Evans ('05): Juneau Ice Field, Glaciological & Arctic Sciences Institute, Juneau, Alaska. Siddhi Khajuria ('05): Green Seal, Inc., Washington, DC. Libby King ('05): Yucateca Maya House Gardens, Cayo Province, Belize. Devan McGranahan ('05): Yucateca Maya House Gardens, Cayo Province, Belize. Shruti Vaidyanathan ('04): Redefining Progress, Oakland, CA. |
| In 2002: | Mary Laura Calhoun ('03): Power Shift, Washington, DC Natalie Ceperley ('03): Alaska Sea Otter & Stellar Sea Lion Commission, Anchorage, AK. Katherine Hodes ('04): Lakeside Nature Center, Kansas City, MO. Gabriela Lopez ('03): Sonoran Arthropod Studies Institute, Tucson, AZ. |
| In 2001: | Natalie Ceperley ('03): with the White Mountain Research Station in Bishop, California. Oliver Koch ('02): with the Desarollo Rural, Colegio de Post graduados in Monticello, Mexico. |
| In 2000: | Michael Fisher ('02): with the San Francisco Estuary Project in Oakland, California. Monica Poelchau ('02): with the University of Cologne, Botanical Inst. in Kolu, Germany. Caroline Ridley ('01): with the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in Brooklyn, New York. Elizabeth Roeder ('01): with The Second Chance Wildlife Center in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Anna Swanson ('02): with SPAWAR Systems Center-SD in San Diego, California. Em Westergaard ('01): with the Iowa Council of International Understanding in Nairobi, Kenya. Supported jointly with the Rosenfield Program: Juliana Serafini ('00): with the Noel Kemff National Park in Casilla, Bolivia. Hillary Mertaugh ('00): with the Self-Empolyed Women's Association in Gujarat, India. |
| In 1999: | Lia Cunningham ('99): with the Fundacion Primatologia de Costa Rica in San Jose, Costa Rica. Jodie LaPoint ('00): with the WWF in Madagascar. Karie Wiltshire: with The Sierra Club Wetlands Project in Indianapolis, Indiana. |
| In 1998: | Mansir Petrie ('99): Sea Turtle Conservation in Kenya. Laurie Kauffman ('99): Primate Rehabilitation in Costa Rica. |
| In 1997: | Rachel Benbrook ('98): Prairie Ecological Manager, the Nature Conservancy of Wisconsin. Lisa Faust ('97): Biologist at the Cetacean Research Unit, Gloucester. MA. Eric Fischer ('97): Pollution of a tropical watershed, the R“o Canoas, Costa Rica. Marta Fisher ('97): Conservation of the Scarlet Macaw, western Costa Rica. Sarah Jirousek ('97): Intern at the Antarctica Project, Washington, DC. Kate Worster ('97): Pollution in the Mukuvisi River, Zimbabwe. |
Field Opportunities at Grinnell | Internships | Career Opportunities | Alum Trips | Top
Career Opportunities
Grinnell students who graduate with an Environmental Studies interdisciplinary concentration are accepted into top graduate and professional schools. In recent years these have included (among others) Yale, Duke, Cornell, Harvard, American University Law School, Stanford, and the University of Washington. Some have also received prestigious awards such as the Fullbright and Watson Fellowships, which allows them to study abroad for a year, pursuing a wandejhar of their own choosing. In the past, Environmental Studies students at Grinnell have won Watsons to study topics as diverse as: "The impact of Tourism on the Conservation of Whales," "Toxic Waste Disposal in the Baltic Countries," and "The Human Signature on the Rainforest." Other students won Fullbrights to study silviculture in the Brazilian Amazon and island biogeography in Australia. Today, Grinnell graduates in Environmental Studies work in many environmental fields, including environmental consulting, government, science, teaching, law, research, public health and public outreach programs. One recent graduate is designing environmentally safe landfills, another managed a conservation zone located on the site of Denver's old Stapleton Airport, and another collected plants from all over the world for the New York Botanical Garden. Specific job titles recent graduates hold include: Political Director for the Sierra Club, Environmental Review Specialist for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Professor of Biology at Queen's University, and Researcher at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. For more information about careers in the environmental sciences, view this web site: Environmental Jobs: A Guide to Employment Opportunities.
Field Opportunities at Grinnell | Internships | Career Opportunities | Alum Trips | Top
Alum Trips
Please follow this link to the historical site of Amazon trips that have been offered.
Field Opportunities at Grinnell | Internships | Career Opportunities | Alum Trips | Top
