As a student majoring in political science and minoring in economics, my interests would naturally be topics relating to government, economics, and other social sciences. However, these were not the reasons I decided to accept the offer to work at the CREA internship over the summer of 2019.
In fact, it may seem strange at first for a student of political science and economics to work at CREA – the Cathance River Education Alliance, a non-profit based in Maine specializing in outdoor place-based education. However, the tasks for the CREA intern as it was listed in the application form, such as leading outdoor activities and assisting with administrative work, seemed like jobs that my existing skill set, including skills which I had acquired from working part-time at the Canadian Armed Forces Reserves, was a good match for.
CREA is a non-profit organization founded in 2000, as one of three organizations which use the lands of the Cathance River Nature Preserve to conduct nature-focused activities for the benefit of the community. Activities under the purview of CREA include leading free outdoor nature walks, conducting field trips for elementary and middle school students, and organizing several week-long summer camps with varying focuses such as outdoor survival skills, science education, and arts and crafts. The organization is quite well known in the local community as well as in the surrounding townships and has a good reputation for providing high-quality education to students and for making kids like going to school.
The practical responsibilities of the intern are quite fluid and depends on the intern’s particular skill set as well as the needs of the organization at the time. Some of my responsibilities included planning and leading a navigation activity for a summer camp, organizing CREA’s donor database, and mapping the locations of QR codes around the preserve where CREA operates. As well, I was able to participate in several of the community events offered by the organization, such as a nature walk on invasive species, as well as a talk on water led by one of CREA’s employees. I was also able to help one of CREA’s partner organizations, the Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust, with rerouting one of the hiking trails so as to avoid a land development that was taking place in the area. Highlights would definitely include carrying out the navigation exercise with students at the summer camp, as well as being able to organize and label the 200+ members of the organizations in its database, which I was told was a priority task for CREA at the time.
This internship has given me a new sense of appreciation for the benefits of nature and for being outdoors. Oftentimes, especially for those who habitually live in urban areas, nature exists more as an abstract concept than as something tangible. For those who wish to experience nature first-hand with people who are passionate about sharing its benefits with others, CREA would be a perfect opportunity to do just that. Moreover, I was able to learn several skills which would be helpful in a future career in the non-profit sector, skills such as prospect research and database management. While I had never considered a career in non-profits as part of my future plans, working at CREA, I was able to see the good that non-profits can carry out for the community, and with the acquired skills from over the summer, this path is now open to me as an option. For anyone considering a career in local non-profits, CREA would be a good opportunity to experience something like that first-hand.
I would like to express my full gratitude to John Wasileski for funding this internship opportunity. Mr. Wasileski is a respected Maine businessperson and À¦°óSMÉçÇø alumnus, and his support was crucial to this internship opportunity being able to be offered at À¦°óSMÉçÇø. The funds I received were incredibly helpful, and they will be used in the upcoming semester to pay for tuition and school-related fees. I would also like to thank both my supervisors at CREA, as well as the leadership of the organization for providing me with housing during my stay in Maine. It was not an easy thing for them to do as the housing market in the area is quite limited, so my gratitude goes out to all of them as well.
