My name is Lee Waller. I am a Florida Gulf Coast University senior in Environmental Studies and a Lee County Parks and Recreation Intern. I have been working closely with Land Stewardship Coordinators Terry Cain and Bob Repenning for one year now. I have truly enjoyed and gained an enormous amount of knowledge while working on a myriad of projects during my internship. My first major project involved planting large native trees, bushes, and grasses in Matanzas Pass Preserve, then following up with regular watering. Since then I have been doing a lot of work on exotic control in Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve,San Carlos Bay Bunche Beach Preserve, and Lakes Park. Other projects that I have been involved with are researching information to be used in Management Plans, creating species lists, GPS work, data entry, creation of photo-points, coordinating with and supervising volunteers, and even designing preserve brochures.

Lee Waller ~ Lee County Parks and Recreation Intern 2006

My name is Jessica Lowery, and I have been an intern for Cathy Olson in the Conservation 20/20 program. I am currently a junior in the Biology program at Florida Gulf Coast University and will start back in the fall. I have done a number of things in the course of this three month internship, including; exotic plant removal, sign and fence repair, wildlife monitoring, GPSing Gopher Tortoise burrows, making maps, weather watching during a prescribed burn, assisting with an experiment involving the control of Melaleuca, and other land stewardship projects. I have definitely learned a lot from this internship and really appreciate the opportunity to be involved in such a great program. I only wish that I can continue my involvement with this program, or one like it in the future.

Intern Tara Aller
School: FGCU
Major: Resort and Hospitality
Graduated Spring 2006
Learned about Eco Tourism, Volunteer Programs, Event Planning and much more.
Greatest Achievement: Planed, coordinated and implemented the Great Calusa Blueway Paddling Festival 2006

Intern Cassie Evan
School: Edison
Cassie Evans started interning with the great programs at the Veteran’s Recreation Center in Lehigh.  She has since come to be a valuable part of our team.

My name is Kathy Makowski and I am a senior at Florida Gulf Coast University and will be graduating this summer with a BS in marketing. I have been lucky enough to obtain an internship with Parks and Recreation Marketing and Media Department for the past six months. I work under the supervision of Ken Mills and John Derums at Terry Park. My experience so far has been wonderful. I have obtained many new skills that I will be able to carry with me throughout my career. This internship has developed my computer skills with the use of specific software programs and has also allowed me to further develop my communication and people skills. I have been given many different responsibilities and have done everything from designing flyers and tri-fold pamphlets to creating public service announcements (PSA) and being responsible for emailing them to numerous contacts. I have also been fortunate to meet and work with many wonderful employees due to coordinating specific county events with them.

My name is Abby Kirby and I am a senior at FGCU with a major in environmental studies.  I have been an intern for Lee County Parks and Recreations since January 2007.  Working with Land Stewardship Coordinator Terry Cain has allowed me to apply what I have learned in textbooks to work that I do in the field.  I have been able to have a better understanding of South West Florida environments as well as the opportunity to work in a variety of different locations.  I have also gained experience and knowledge in usage of the GPS, management plans, creating and editing species lists, and setting up vegetation transects at the Six Mile Cypress Slough for future mitigation.  This internship has also given me the opportunity to work with other companies such as Johnson Engineering and Fish and Wildlife, as well as the opportunity to attend numerous seminars (Natural and Forested Areas Management Seminar, Pictometry Training, and Envisioning the Future of Coastal Management at Rookery Bay).  I know that everything I have learned here at LCPR, and will continue to learn during my internship, will greatly benefit me in my future career.

Abby Kirby ~ FGCU 2007

My name is Katie DeBerry, and this I can say was the best summer I have ever spent. All the great people, and the beautiful sights just made it a notch above the rest. I saw many interesting things, and the knowledge that I learned is detrimental to my future in the environmental field. There is no doubt that the best way to learn is from experience and the wisdom of others, and there is no shortage of that around here.

Katie Deberry ~ Conservation 20/20 Intern

Summer 2007

This internship has been the start of a series of exciting and interesting projects and experiences. I am so lucky that I have gotten this experience because I think that it has really opened my eyes to what types of jobs are available in my field and given me a competitive edge when I gradate in December. Not only do I have the best supervisor, Bob Repenning, who has taught me so much in such a short time and he had pushed me to learn so much more than I could have ever expected to get out of this internship experience. Bob has introduced me to so many people within the Lee County offices and other companies such as Johnson Engineering, it has been so interesting meeting and talking with people about their jobs. I was also able to develop my senior research project, attend seminars, and help control exotic species such as Melaleuca and Brazilian Pepper! I am very thankful for this experience, it has really made my year to be apart of the Lee County Parks and Recreation team!