summer

2019 Intern Reflections: Madi

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Eagle Eye’s Residential Summer Internship is a unique experience for college students to live and work outdoors for six weeks, practice sustainable living, and connect with themselves, others, and nature in a beautiful forest environment. The internship offers a dual experience to develop hands-on land management and outdoor skills and gain outdoor education and mentoring experience with youth and teens ages 8-18.

Below is a recent reflection from 2019 Residential Intern Madi McCarthy of UMass Amherst. Madi is a junior majoring in Psychology and Education.

Working with Eagle Eye this past summer was one of the most impactful experiences I have been lucky enough to have had. I gained so many life skills, underwent personal growth, and made life-long connections with very special people. This summer helped me realize that I want to pursue a career in education, especially in an urban community. Working with the youth will have a lasting impact on me, because I saw how much nature can affect youth. I was also able to hold the Champion role and lead a youth program. That was one of the most intimidating things I have done, but also such a great learning experience!

When the youth were not on site, we worked to maintain the site. [Site Manager] Scott taught me so many skills that I never had exposure to before. I leaned how to operate various tools and create a lot, including helping to finish a cabin! Doing trail stewardship daily helped me learn the skills behind land management, give back, and appreciate the land more overall.

During the internship, I was able to establish healthy routines and a healthy lifestyle. Cooking and eating good food, meditating daily, and having group check-ins and feedback with everyone during the week helped me to realize that I can apply these routines to my daily life in college. Since the internship, I have been back at UMass and the routines that I established this summer, such as daily meditation, yoga, and journaling, have all stuck with me more than ever. It has had a big impact on my well-being.

The deadline to apply for the Residential Summer Internship is Friday, April 17th, 2020, with applications reviewed on a rolling basis. Read the full internship description here and contact us to learn more!

2019 Intern Reflections: Gabby

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It’s a new year, there’s snow on the ground, and it’s time to start thinking about our 2020 summer internship. Below is a recent reflection from 2019 Residential Intern Gabby Gracia of UMass Amherst. Gabby is a junior majoring in Natural Resource Conservation with a concentration in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation.

Working with Eagle Eye was a breath of literal fresh air that took me away from a very fast-paced and stressed-out life. Having a routine everyday was something that made me feel secure, and I loved working on Eagle Eye’s site. The tight-knit community gave me a sense of security that I could not find outside of the site. 

Spending the day with the youth was refreshing because of the games and activities all of the interns got to lead. Leading 20 people is harder than it seems! Practicing the communication skills necessary to keep the day going smoothly was beneficial and has certainly helped me to express thoughts concisely and effectively outside of the internship. 

My favorite part of the internship was waking up and going to bed with the sun. I felt so connected to the Earth and being outside 24/7 made me realize that nature is so complex and beautiful. The youth definitely realized that as well. They asked so many thoughtful questions about our plant-based diet, the land, the program, and the stewardship work we completed. 

Overall, it is a very unique experience that creates opportunities for the youth and interns to connect with and appreciate nature in their own ways. 

We’re looking forward to working with our next group of interns! The residential summer internship is a unique experience that allows college students to reconnect with themselves, others, and nature in an immersive and intentional environment, while developing land management and youth education skills. Find out more about the summer internship here and contact us to learn more.

Thoughts on Nature and Childhood

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By Samantha Bloom, 2013 Summer Intern

Many of the conversations I have had with my grandmother have involved her telling me stories being told to go play outside. These stories come from her childhood as well as my dad’s. My mom has explained to me the importance of the bell that now hangs outside our back door, as it was used to call her and her siblings out of the forest for dinnertime. When I hear these stories, I am often envious of how the times have changed and how I have lacked such experiences. Now that I have reached the age of college, I have started to understand enough about nature to realize what I have missed out on. I now know the importance of going out into nature, and I feel it is my duty to help others do the same.

As I look back on my childhood, some of my favorite memories did include playing outside with my neighborhood friends. However, I believe that my generation is the transitional generation in the definition of a “playground” and “playtime.” My parents and grandparents used the forest and the meadow as their playgrounds, searching for undiscovered paths and playing with new types of bugs each day. They would fearlessly jump into the local pond or lake to cool off. The next generation, including my brother and myself, began the transition to today’s youth. We preferred to play in manmade locations, such as playgrounds and water parks. Although we were still technically playing outside, we had already begun the removal of youth from nature. The current youth have continued to widen this gap between playtime and nature. They prefer playing with technology inside the comfort of their houses. Many even fear the unknown of the natural world that had once appealed to so many youth.

This removal from nature is leading to what Richard Louv calls “nature-deficit disorder.” He explains that so many of the disorders that many children are diagnosed with today are because they are too sheltered from nature. The stories from older generations combined with my own personal experiences have led me to agree with this. Disorders such as ADHD as well as certain types of illnesses have become much more prevalent simply because youth are not going outside and exposing themselves to new experiences in nature. Their immune systems are not developing as much and their mental capacities are not being exercised to the fullest capacity. However, nature-deficit disorder is not only linked to medical effects. Youth have lost the ability to develop and expand their imagination. Nowadays, they need a screen in front of their faces in order to keep themselves amused. This nature-deficit disorder only has one solution: exposing youth to nature. I was so excited to be able to do this through Eagle Eye as one of the 2013 summer interns, and I look forward to doing more of this in the future.