Jonathan Shimizu: Week 3 Recap

I can’t believe we’ve only finished week 3! Somehow it feels like I’ve been here for much longer even though we’re not even halfway through the program. At the same time, it makes me realize how little time we actually have to complete our projects. This week Michael and I finally got into the field and began collecting data. Our mentors guided us through the disease rating system for butternuts and gave us a glimpse into what our upcoming lap work will entail. We also went into several planting zones and began making maps of the plots. Michael and I spent most of our days organizing the plots and rating each individual tree based on disease severity. Hopefully we can wrap up this portion of fieldwork next week so we can start collecting samples and analyzing them in the lab.

I also got to spend time with the other interns at Turkey Run State Park this past weekend. I loved hiking the trails and trekking through the impressive ravines. Temperatures had dropped that day, so the weather was perfect for hiking! The trails were a bit busier than I would have preferred, but I enjoyed the hike nonetheless. My favorite part was following the small creeks in the ravines and looking at all of the different tree species in the area.