TSA Alumna Gains Valuable Field Experience
Greta Binzen TSA’14 spent eight weeks during the summer of 2018 working with Andy Boyce, a conservation mapping and field specialist for the Upper Valley Land Trust in Hanover, NH. With many new easements under way, Greta assisted Andy with his work creating the Baseline Documentation Reports that accompany each new easement. The work involved both time in the field, getting to know the property on the ground, and desk time, summarizing the property into a comprehensive document.
Greta Binzen (on left) in the field with Upper Valley Land Trust
Greta said, “working with Andy was a great experience. I loved getting out in the field and exploring new areas, even when ticks and brambles were involved.”
When asked what she had learned, she explained, “I think it’s twofold. First, I learned how to rad the forests and fields so that they could tell a story. Where I used to just see a patch in the woods, now I can see an old pasture and start to understand the history of the land. At the same time, I’ve learned an entirely different style for conveying my ideas and knowledge. The writing I’ve done at UVLT is much more concise than the work I do at school and it’s helped me to be more deliverate in my writing.”
Greta expects to graduate from Skidmore College in 2019 with a major in environmental studies and a minor in mathematics.
–Excerpted from the UVLT Fall 2018 News & Notes.