Ezra AndersonIntern Insights is a mini-series that spotlights the interns participating in the Sustainability Internship Program (SIP) and their day-to-day activities and accomplishments. The Office of Sustainability partners with the Student Sustainability Council and sustainability-related units from across the University to provide exciting and meaningful undergraduate internship opportunities for UK students. Interns work with a mentor to support a specific sustainability-related unit on campus, develop an independent project, and participate in a professional development series with a full cohort of interns. In this article, we are excited to share the perspective of Ezra Anderson, our Urban Forest Initiative intern.
As an intern for the Urban Forest Initiative (UFI), I’ve gotten to help shape some of the most exciting tree-related projects that UK has to offer. A lot of my work has revolved around supporting the UFI Tree Corps. Tree Corps is a program to promote student engagement with Lexington’s tree canopy by offering volunteer opportunities to weed, mulch, and more across the city. By allowing members of the student body to have hands-on experiences with city trees, we hope to create a campus community with a personal stake in sustainable practices. To improve the quality of the time our volunteers spend helping care for local trees, I focus on providing clear instructions to our service members and making sure that no one feels left out during our events. My communication skills have significantly improved as a result!
On a related note, I’ve also spent much time tabling for UFI. While this may seem like a more relaxed activity, it actually requires a great deal of focus and flexibility. For one, you must have the energy to interact with many people. Additionally, you have to show up ready to quickly and clearly pitch UFI to the public and adapt that pitch to a variety of individuals. Thankfully, it’s not difficult for me to explain why UFI is worth working with since they’ve been a part of my life for years now.
As an SIP intern, I am tasked with designing a replicable project to promote my sustainability unit. While designing this project, I considered UFI’s role in my personal development. I was first introduced to UFI through their TreeCATs initiative, a multi-week training event that offers applicants lectures on the significance of urban forests. As a stressed-out out-of-state student in his first year at UK, TreeCATs gave me deep insight into Lexington’s local environment, as well as connections within the UK community that I wouldn’t have gained otherwise. Taking this into account, as well as my background as a music major, my project sought to answer the question: how could UFI benefit from non-STEM skills?
My project eventually took shape as a pop-up shop fundraiser. However, this pop-up shop comes with a twist: a student design competition. The design competition was created to both build excitement for the final pop-up while also serving as an introduction for students to UFI. One winning design was selected for this year’s competition, for which the theme was “Campus Canopy”. “Campus Canopy” asked students to highlight their favorite campus tree, and while we were impressed with all our submissions, Alexandra Taylor’s “Resilient Roots” was a team favorite.
Alexandra is the Vice President of UK’s Horticulture Club, as well as an undergraduate researcher. Alexandra’s design focused on a grove of trees between the Young Library and Ball Hall. The UFI team is currently waiting for Alexandra’s design to be approved by UK Licensing, but we’re still on track to have a working pop-up this April; we can’t wait to see what kind of support Alexandra and UFI will receive!
