The Sarasota-based TREE Foundation has hired three summer research interns from Williams College. The three interns have received scholarships from the college to enable them to take internships with TREE to work virtually on a variety of research projects for the international non-profit foundation which is dedicated to tree and forest research, exploration, education, and conservation. A fourth intern from the University of Southern California has also been hired by TREE to work in a research capacity. TREE Executive Director Dr. Meg Lowman will work with, advise and guide the students through weekly Zoom calls during their eight-week intern programs, which began in June.
Lilia Robinowitz is a Williams College sophomore studying Art History and Studio Art with a concentration in Environmental Studies. Her internship will focus on environmental education messaging for tropical forests, and compiling research on sloths for the foundation.
Eva Castagna is a Williams College sophomore studying Biology. During her internship, she will encapsulate important research on canopy walkways around the world and create an updated global map of canopy walkways which will be showcased within signage at the base of the Myakka River State Park canopy walkway, created by the TREE Foundation in 1999.
Evan Wright, a junior at Williams College majoring in Environmental Studies, will work with the TREE Foundation’s Advocacy committee, creating a survey of national and international non-governmental organizations that focus on rainforest conservation.
University of Southern California undergrad Merry Moore will work on data analyses of citizen science biodiversity data from TREE’s Amazon and Australian canopy walkway sites, working toward publication. She will also create an online summary of insect-plant interactions in forest canopies.
Learn more about the TREE Foundation and its mission to save the forests of planet Earth at http://www.TreeFoundation.org.