WEBVTT

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.700 align:middle line:90%


00:00:02.700 --> 00:00:03.600 align:middle line:90%
Hi.

00:00:03.600 --> 00:00:04.726 align:middle line:90%
I'm Marge Seguin.

00:00:04.726 --> 00:00:06.830 align:middle line:84%
I am a junior environmental
studies and philosophy

00:00:06.830 --> 00:00:08.686 align:middle line:84%
double major, and
this summer I was

00:00:08.686 --> 00:00:11.780 align:middle line:84%
a research assistant for the
Restoration Ecology Program.

00:00:11.780 --> 00:00:14.220 align:middle line:84%
So what is the Restoration
Ecology Program,

00:00:14.220 --> 00:00:15.645 align:middle line:90%
and what is restoration?

00:00:15.645 --> 00:00:19.450 align:middle line:84%
So basically, restoration is
fixing damaged ecosystems.

00:00:19.450 --> 00:00:23.370 align:middle line:84%
The REP aims to address that
through research, practice,

00:00:23.370 --> 00:00:24.530 align:middle line:90%
and outreach.

00:00:24.530 --> 00:00:26.610 align:middle line:84%
Research is informing
the restoration,

00:00:26.610 --> 00:00:29.300 align:middle line:84%
practice is doing
the restoration,

00:00:29.300 --> 00:00:32.534 align:middle line:84%
and outreach is getting
people involved in the work.

00:00:32.534 --> 00:00:34.700 align:middle line:84%
How to apply to this
internship-- two resources

00:00:34.700 --> 00:00:37.640 align:middle line:84%
are the Miller Worley Center
Internship and Fellowship

00:00:37.640 --> 00:00:40.525 align:middle line:84%
website, where you can learn
more about this internship

00:00:40.525 --> 00:00:43.100 align:middle line:84%
as well as others
that are similar;

00:00:43.100 --> 00:00:46.221 align:middle line:84%
and the MHC-REP
website, where you

00:00:46.221 --> 00:00:48.220 align:middle line:84%
can learn about the program
and this internship.

00:00:48.220 --> 00:00:50.770 align:middle line:84%
So then you assemble
the necessary materials,

00:00:50.770 --> 00:00:52.040 align:middle line:90%
prepare for the interview.

00:00:52.040 --> 00:00:56.120 align:middle line:84%
Something that I think helped me
secure this internship was not

00:00:56.120 --> 00:00:58.620 align:middle line:84%
only my interest in research
and environmental science,

00:00:58.620 --> 00:01:02.210 align:middle line:84%
but also I had a farm
internship two summers ago,

00:01:02.210 --> 00:01:05.390 align:middle line:84%
which prepared me for the
physical demands of the job.

00:01:05.390 --> 00:01:09.090 align:middle line:84%
I used LYNK funding to get
paid for this internship,

00:01:09.090 --> 00:01:09.996 align:middle line:90%
and that's $3,000.

00:01:09.996 --> 00:01:12.376 align:middle line:84%
It pays for food,
housing, transport.

00:01:12.376 --> 00:01:17.630 align:middle line:84%
And the application deadline
is around January 20.

00:01:17.630 --> 00:01:19.810 align:middle line:84%
The research overview
for last summer

00:01:19.810 --> 00:01:25.700 align:middle line:84%
was how restoration efforts
impact geochemical processes,

00:01:25.700 --> 00:01:28.180 align:middle line:84%
how restoration efforts
can decrease greenhouse gas

00:01:28.180 --> 00:01:32.210 align:middle line:84%
emissions and affect nutrient
filtration, how biochar

00:01:32.210 --> 00:01:33.620 align:middle line:90%
impacts restoration efforts.

00:01:33.620 --> 00:01:36.883 align:middle line:84%
Biochar is charcoal formed
from organic matter,

00:01:36.883 --> 00:01:39.100 align:middle line:84%
and it keeps carbon
in the soil, so we

00:01:39.100 --> 00:01:44.800 align:middle line:84%
were looking to see
how biochar affects

00:01:44.800 --> 00:01:46.730 align:middle line:84%
the vegetative community
and nutrient cycling.

00:01:46.730 --> 00:01:48.650 align:middle line:84%
And we also looked at
how restoration affects

00:01:48.650 --> 00:01:51.822 align:middle line:84%
microbial communities--
the diversity, function,

00:01:51.822 --> 00:01:54.290 align:middle line:90%
and competition between sites.

00:01:54.290 --> 00:01:55.092 align:middle line:90%
So what I did.

00:01:55.092 --> 00:01:57.050 align:middle line:84%
In the field, we established
experimental plots

00:01:57.050 --> 00:01:58.400 align:middle line:90%
with soil amendments.

00:01:58.400 --> 00:02:00.530 align:middle line:84%
To establish the plots,
we surveyed the area.

00:02:00.530 --> 00:02:03.680 align:middle line:84%
It was pretty flooded
because we were in a wetland.

00:02:03.680 --> 00:02:05.340 align:middle line:90%
We prepared the select supplies.

00:02:05.340 --> 00:02:07.460 align:middle line:90%
We put in stakes.

00:02:07.460 --> 00:02:09.620 align:middle line:84%
We trenched and
pumped water out.

00:02:09.620 --> 00:02:13.890 align:middle line:84%
We then dug holes to make way
for the soil amendments, which

00:02:13.890 --> 00:02:15.756 align:middle line:90%
were BiocharPEAT.

00:02:15.756 --> 00:02:18.275 align:middle line:84%
We added these,
covered the plots,

00:02:18.275 --> 00:02:21.060 align:middle line:90%
and that was basically it.

00:02:21.060 --> 00:02:25.570 align:middle line:84%
In the lab at Mount Holyoke,
we helped with the PCR process,

00:02:25.570 --> 00:02:28.886 align:middle line:84%
which is a method that makes
many copies of small sections

00:02:28.886 --> 00:02:31.860 align:middle line:84%
of DNA, which tells you
what microbial species are

00:02:31.860 --> 00:02:32.630 align:middle line:90%
in the soil.

00:02:32.630 --> 00:02:34.550 align:middle line:84%
And specifically,
we made the plate

00:02:34.550 --> 00:02:37.053 align:middle line:84%
shown in the photo, where
you put small pieces of soil

00:02:37.053 --> 00:02:39.419 align:middle line:90%
into each well.

00:02:39.419 --> 00:02:41.841 align:middle line:84%
At the Cary Institute
for Ecosystem Studies,

00:02:41.841 --> 00:02:44.146 align:middle line:90%
we did DEAs and CFIm.

00:02:44.146 --> 00:02:48.794 align:middle line:84%
DEAs uses the production
of nitrogen gas

00:02:48.794 --> 00:02:50.670 align:middle line:84%
to measure
denitrification rates.

00:02:50.670 --> 00:02:52.850 align:middle line:84%
And for that, we put
soil into beakers,

00:02:52.850 --> 00:02:56.030 align:middle line:84%
we added the DEA media,
we evacuated and flushed

00:02:56.030 --> 00:02:58.970 align:middle line:84%
the beakers with nitrogen
gas, put on a shaker table,

00:02:58.970 --> 00:03:01.670 align:middle line:84%
added another gas, and
then took gas samples.

00:03:01.670 --> 00:03:03.950 align:middle line:84%
For CFIm, this measures
carbon and nitrogen,

00:03:03.950 --> 00:03:06.500 align:middle line:90%
and this was done in two parts.

00:03:06.500 --> 00:03:08.970 align:middle line:84%
We weighed soils, we put
them into cups and beakers.

00:03:08.970 --> 00:03:12.050 align:middle line:84%
In the cups, we added KCl,
put on the shaker table,

00:03:12.050 --> 00:03:15.768 align:middle line:84%
and then did this
drip station thing.

00:03:15.768 --> 00:03:17.270 align:middle line:84%
And for the beakers,
we fumigated

00:03:17.270 --> 00:03:19.072 align:middle line:84%
them to kill the
microbes in the soil.

00:03:19.072 --> 00:03:22.942 align:middle line:84%
We put the dead soil into
mason jars with fresh soil

00:03:22.942 --> 00:03:25.055 align:middle line:90%
for those microbes to feed on.

00:03:25.055 --> 00:03:27.026 align:middle line:84%
And then we took gas
samples after incubation

00:03:27.026 --> 00:03:28.890 align:middle line:84%
because the microbes
were producing gases

00:03:28.890 --> 00:03:33.273 align:middle line:84%
as they were feeding
on their dead siblings.

00:03:33.273 --> 00:03:34.721 align:middle line:90%
[LAUGHTER]

00:03:34.721 --> 00:03:35.221 align:middle line:90%


00:03:35.221 --> 00:03:36.869 align:middle line:84%
We also had this
teaching opportunity,

00:03:36.869 --> 00:03:38.910 align:middle line:84%
which was the Restoration
Ecology Summer Scholars

00:03:38.910 --> 00:03:39.940 align:middle line:90%
Program.

00:03:39.940 --> 00:03:41.572 align:middle line:84%
I assisted with the
weekly activities

00:03:41.572 --> 00:03:44.660 align:middle line:84%
like stream assessment,
soil analyses.

00:03:44.660 --> 00:03:47.280 align:middle line:84%
At the end of the week, they
got to do a design [INAUDIBLE],,

00:03:47.280 --> 00:03:50.090 align:middle line:84%
where they created the
next steps for what

00:03:50.090 --> 00:03:51.750 align:middle line:90%
Project Stream would be.

00:03:51.750 --> 00:03:53.520 align:middle line:84%
But the biggest
thing I contributed

00:03:53.520 --> 00:03:58.219 align:middle line:84%
was creating and presenting
lesson in plant identification

00:03:58.219 --> 00:04:00.752 align:middle line:90%
and plant use in restoration.

00:04:00.752 --> 00:04:02.710 align:middle line:84%
And here I'm looking at
a frog and not a plant,

00:04:02.710 --> 00:04:05.430 align:middle line:90%
but still very exciting.

00:04:05.430 --> 00:04:07.034 align:middle line:90%
Some challenges.

00:04:07.034 --> 00:04:09.450 align:middle line:84%
It's important to know that
environmental research entails

00:04:09.450 --> 00:04:11.880 align:middle line:90%
long, labor-intensive days.

00:04:11.880 --> 00:04:16.819 align:middle line:84%
Includes a lot of cleaning
as well, with rehabilitation,

00:04:16.819 --> 00:04:18.360 align:middle line:84%
which wasn't a
problem, but it's just

00:04:18.360 --> 00:04:19.850 align:middle line:90%
something important to know.

00:04:19.850 --> 00:04:21.850 align:middle line:84%
Also, I wasn't as involved
in the entire process

00:04:21.850 --> 00:04:23.540 align:middle line:90%
as I'd like to be in the future.

00:04:23.540 --> 00:04:25.110 align:middle line:84%
What was exciting
about the research

00:04:25.110 --> 00:04:27.830 align:middle line:84%
was knowing the background
science and the reasoning

00:04:27.830 --> 00:04:30.750 align:middle line:84%
behind the experiment,
so in the future,

00:04:30.750 --> 00:04:32.750 align:middle line:84%
I think I'd like to be
more involved in that.

00:04:32.750 --> 00:04:33.650 align:middle line:90%
What I learned.

00:04:33.650 --> 00:04:36.240 align:middle line:84%
This is just an
overview, but broadly,

00:04:36.240 --> 00:04:37.984 align:middle line:84%
more about the
research topics, I

00:04:37.984 --> 00:04:40.650 align:middle line:84%
learned that restoration efforts
can improve nutrient filtration

00:04:40.650 --> 00:04:42.876 align:middle line:90%
and water quality.

00:04:42.876 --> 00:04:46.560 align:middle line:84%
The use of biochar can be
used to increase biodiversity,

00:04:46.560 --> 00:04:48.910 align:middle line:84%
increase nutrient cycling,
and decrease greenhouse gas

00:04:48.910 --> 00:04:50.083 align:middle line:90%
emissions.

00:04:50.083 --> 00:04:52.910 align:middle line:84%
And I learned that not much is
known about microbial community

00:04:52.910 --> 00:04:57.170 align:middle line:84%
composition and function and
how composition and diversity

00:04:57.170 --> 00:05:00.390 align:middle line:90%
influences function.

00:05:00.390 --> 00:05:01.190 align:middle line:90%
Broader takeaways.

00:05:01.190 --> 00:05:02.680 align:middle line:84%
I learned more
about what research

00:05:02.680 --> 00:05:05.590 align:middle line:84%
is like, which is why I
wanted to do the internship.

00:05:05.590 --> 00:05:07.756 align:middle line:84%
And I learned that it can
be physically challenging.

00:05:07.756 --> 00:05:10.220 align:middle line:84%
And also, it's a
long path where you

00:05:10.220 --> 00:05:13.379 align:middle line:84%
have to go to graduate school,
and it's hard to get a job,

00:05:13.379 --> 00:05:14.920 align:middle line:84%
so that was important
to learn about.

00:05:14.920 --> 00:05:17.310 align:middle line:84%
I learned I'm very
passionate about teaching.

00:05:17.310 --> 00:05:19.359 align:middle line:84%
I loved creating and
teaching a lesson.

00:05:19.359 --> 00:05:21.233 align:middle line:84%
I loved working with
students and seeing them

00:05:21.233 --> 00:05:23.240 align:middle line:90%
become engaged in the science.

00:05:23.240 --> 00:05:26.660 align:middle line:84%
And so this gave me direction on
next steps to take in a career.

00:05:26.660 --> 00:05:29.520 align:middle line:84%
So continue to look into
research, but maybe do a thesis

00:05:29.520 --> 00:05:33.055 align:middle line:84%
and become more involved
in the entire process.

00:05:33.055 --> 00:05:35.930 align:middle line:84%
I appreciated how our
research informed practice.

00:05:35.930 --> 00:05:38.111 align:middle line:84%
That's not always
true, so that's

00:05:38.111 --> 00:05:39.270 align:middle line:90%
an important part for me.

00:05:39.270 --> 00:05:42.270 align:middle line:84%
And I learned that I
definitely want to teach.

00:05:42.270 --> 00:05:43.170 align:middle line:90%
Thank you.

00:05:43.170 --> 00:05:46.520 align:middle line:90%
[APPLAUSE]

00:05:46.520 --> 00:05:48.288 align:middle line:90%