The Claire Saltonstall Education Program (CSEP) Environmental Training Internship Program returned for a ninth summer on Martha’s Vineyard. The immersive internship experience connects local teens to conservation work with a focus on ecology, stewardship, horticulture and environmental education. This summer, four high-school students joined the Trustees for the program.

“Our goal is to provide each student with an in-depth understanding of the work of The Trustees on Martha’s Vineyard,” shared Molly Peach Mayhew, Islands Education Manager. “I’ve seen this internship experience lead to future seasonal employment with The Trustees and serve as an inspiration for an area of study in college and future career pathways.”

About The Program

During the six-week Environmental Training Internship program, each student rotates through practical experience in environmental education, stewardship management, shorebird management, horticulture, public interpretation, and sustainable agriculture. These areas of focus align with the Trustees’ various properties across Martha’s Vineyard, and allow students the opportunity to work closely with staff ranging from ecologists to stewards, farmers, and other property staff.

At the beginning of the internship program, The Aquinnah Cultural Center hosted an orientation day for the Trustees’ interns and island conservation organization partners. Brad Lopes, the Education & Outreach Coordinator for the ACC, led the day. This included an opening activity with guided conversation, a tour of the museum, a walking tour of the Wampanoag homelands, and a final discussion circle.

“One goal of this orientation was to discuss the responsibility of being stewards of land that is the ancestral home of the Wampanoag people,” shared Peach Mayhew. “It was an impactful day that informed the rest of the program.”

New This Year: Fieldtrips

New to the program this year, were Wednesday field trips, in partnership with several other organizations across Martha’s Vineyard. In addition to the two days a week spent working with Trustees staff, on a third day each week, students spent time with another organization, learning from their expertise in specific fields, such as biodiversity and water quality monitoring, native plant care, and island history.

“This was a true collaborative effort,” shared Peach Mayhew. “This new opportunity gave each intern a chance to experience a variety of areas of study and interests in environmental, conservation, and resource management fields. Through these other organizations, the interns gained a broader understanding of the conservation efforts on the island.”

Interns participated in a weekly field trip to other non-profit island organizations. Each field trip day included hands-on learning with the following partner organizations:

• Aquinnah Cultural Center: Providing cultural education and tribal engagement.
• BiodiversityWorks: Promoting conservation of biodiversity through wildlife research and monitoring while providing opportunities for people to engage in hands-on nature study.
• Great Pond Foundation: Leader in estuary science and restoration, using data generated by our programs for informed pond management.
• Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation: Conserving the natural, beautiful, rural landscape and character of Martha’s Vineyard for present and future generations.
• Island Grown Initiative: Building a regenerative and equitable food system with the Martha’s Vineyard community.
• Polly Hill Arboretum: Perpetuating the experimental tradition in horticulture established by Polly Hill by sharing knowledge of plants and scientific procedure through educational programs, research, plant conservation, and exploration.
• Martha’s Vineyard Museum: Discovering, exploring, and strengthening connections to Martha’s Vineyard and its diverse heritage.

“We organized this connection and collaboration to encourage high school students to engage in the conservation movement and spark newfound passions, and I think it achieved just that,” shared Peach Mayhew.