Postcards from the Field: Virginia Hamilton

Shell Conservation Intern Virginia Hamilton

Hello,

This is my first summer working as a Shell Conservation Intern and I am thoroughly enjoying the experience. I am fresh from completing my bachelors degree in Geography, with a Coastal Management Option, and a minor in Environmental Studies. I am also fortunate enough to have completed an optional co-operative education component. Working as a Shell Conservation Intern has allowed me to translate my in-class education into real-world situations. I have had the opportunity to go to breathtaking properties all over British Colombia that I would probably never have the chance to experience otherwise. Talking with various experts and other NCC employees throughout the summer has also given me invaluable advice and networking avenues for possible future career options in the conservation field.

My summer began with a week of training and in-office preparation for the field season. Fellow BC intern Brittany Dewar and I have spent our summer doing invasive plant inventories and entry into an Invasive Alien Plant Program, as well as undertaking bioagent collection. Some of the properties I have traveled to in the past three months include a beautiful grassland property called Lac Du Bois in Kamloops, a coastal mountain on Salt Spring Island (Mt. Erskine) and one in Cowichan (Mt. Tzouhalem). I was also at the largest privately held conservation area in Canada, the Darkwoods property.

Having just completed university, I am not entirely sure what I will be doing come September when I finish with SCIP. However, I hope to find some applicable environmental work and save up some money to go traveling. After that, I would like to find a career in invasive plant management, as it is something I feel very strongly about and it is a steadily growing issue all over BC, but particularly in the coastal regions. My experience with NCC and SCIP thus far has been invaluable; I have learned new methods of mapping, invasive species management, and made many friends and memories along the way.

Happy Trails,

Virginia Hamilton