My name is Sihe, I am an undergraduate student of plant biology. I was born in Wuhan, China and lived there until I got my high school degree. Then I went to France for school and studied Environmental Engineering for two years. Now I am majoring in Plant Biology for Agro-Environment in the University of Montpellier, France. I come to Olympia every summer to see my family and spend my holiday with them. This August, I joined the Nisqually Land Trust as an intern and worked with the team for four weeks. At the end of my internship, I would like to record the amazing experience of this summer and share it with you.
I like living beings, especially plants. I always dream of seeing all kinds of plants around the world with my own eyes. Regrettably, I have always lived in populous cities, which makes it difficult for me to have access to nature. My dream has always been just a dream, and I look forward to achieving it someday in the future. However, when I learned that with the process of globalization, human activities have caused huge changes in the biosphere, and the biodiversity in most areas of the world is showing a decreasing trend, I felt anxious. “Selfishly” speaking, I do not want the plants to disappear before I am able to see them all. I must do something for environmental protection. This is the main reason why I sought the internship opportunity from the Nisqually Land Trust.
I feel very lucky to have this internship with the Nisqually Land Trust, and I did enjoy it. I was worried at the beginning whether I could perform well, since I had no internship experience before. But after seeing my two leaders, Ian and Courtney, my worries were dispelled – they are easy to get along with. They gave a detailed introduction to each task that I had never done before (which literally means every task), so that I could understand the purpose of the work well and get started quickly. Thanks to Ian and Courtney, I have done a greater job than I thought I could do with their help. Whether it is walking through the forest and checking the status of the property in the mountains, using tools to clean up invasive plants, or just pulling out Himalayan blackberries with volunteers around our community, it is a precious experience for me. I learned a lot of theoretical knowledge in school, which is surely very useful, but I often feel that learning in school is not the only thing I need to do. Now I’ve figured out that, only when I work in the field with my feet on the ground can I truly receive the feeling of “I am indeed doing something.” Besides, observing in the field is also a good way to learn new things – I have learned to identify many kinds of invasive plants! This is much faster than memorizing an identification key.
Time is fleeting, and I still miss the time I spent working with the team. Thanks to the staff and volunteers of the Nisqually Land Trust, your continued efforts have improved the ecological environment on the Nisqually River. Thanks to the Nisqually Land Trust team for accepting me as an intern, which made it more clear for me what is supposed be done to protect the environment. Thanks to all people who are concerned about environmental issues, the public’s awareness of environmental protection is the key to making our home a better place. I am looking forward to meeting you again. See you next time!
Sihe SUN