My name is Jo Lewis, and I am the first summer intern at Nature Groupie (formerly the Stewardship Network: New England). This summer (2014), I will be working with five partners around the Seacoast region on various natural resource and conservation projects. I will be spending several weeks each with the:

• Southeast Land Trust of New Hampshire
• University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension
• New Castle Conservation Commission
• University of New Hampshire Woodlands Office
• Natural Resources Conservation Service

I grew up in Southern Maryland always surrounded by water. Ever since I was little, I have been involved in outreach programs designed to help improve the health of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. This, augmented by competing in the Envirothon program throughout high school, has given me a love of the environment and a sense of duty and responsibility to protect it. Consequently, I am pursuing a career related to environmental conservation.  

I am an environmental engineering student going into my second year at the University of New Hampshire. With my degree, I hope to work restoring the wetlands around the world, including those I grew up around in Maryland.

On campus, I am involved with the Environmental and Water Resources Institute (EWRI). EWRI has given me opportunities to volunteer with environmental conservation projects as well as network with professionals in the environmental field.

Additionally, I am working on a project to bring clean drinking water to a small community in the Peruvian Andes through Students Without Borders. I traveled to Peru this past May (2014) to implement the first phase of this project: installing a new pipeline to the town. This school year, the team will be working on designing a slow sand filter to remove contaminants from the water supply.

I am very excited to be starting my internship with UNH Extension. I cannot think of a more beautiful place to work or better colleagues to work with.

Throughout the summer, I will be posting updates on my time spent with the partners and the projects on which I am working. Be sure to check back to this page often to see updates on my projects, what I am learning, and all of the fun I am having! First on the list is a couple of weeks with the Southeast Land Trust of New Hampshire… wish me luck!