Check out this internship essay from Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund summer 2024 intern, Joshua Landkamer, describing his experience working with the Hawaiʻi Island HWF team. (We enjoyed working with you Joshua!):
This summer, I was given the opportunity to contribute to the Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund through a summer internship. This internship mostly consisted of me traveling to the southernmost area of the Big Island to help keep the beaches clean and do my part in protecting the fragile ecosystem that exists there, whether that protection included removing nets, trash, or other marine debris. In addition to cleaning up marine debris, I was also able to observe conservation education being taught to volunteer groups before they embarked on marine debris pickup. It was uplifting to watch these groups learn to think in a more sustainable manner that is sure to benefit them and the nature that surrounds them.
HWF summer intern, Josh Landkamer, participates in a hike with our team at Kamaoa in summer 2024. (PC: Stacey Breining)
Additionally, because I was able to spend so much time with Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund staff and other volunteers, I was able to grow my own perception of the ecosystem at Ka Lae (South Point) and learn of the intricate relationship that exists there between people and the environment. Observing this relationship firsthand was very beneficial to me as an aspiring professional in the field of ecology/ conservation. Because I was given this opportunity to ask questions and interact with the Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund team and other volunteers, I happily made it my mission to learn as much as I could. This, I later learned, was easily attainable with the very knowledgeable Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund team and volunteers.
To conclude my internship, I traveled to Oʻahu to contribute to the Hawaiʻi Conservation Conference as a part of the work exchange program. My volunteering contribution consisted of greeting and directing participants and presenters, selling merchandise, and acting as the door monitor for various talks. In between my volunteering, I found the time to visit the exhibition room, where conservation groups displayed their work, and I was also able to sit in on multiple talks about new environmental research and methods being conducted. In the exhibition room, I would take away much more than free stickers. Much like my experience working with the Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund, I was able ask professionals about the inspiring work their groups were doing in the field of conservation. Sitting in on talks in conservation, the learning did not wane.
Through my summer internship at the Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund, I was able to learn about the ecosystem at Ka Lae in the context of conservation in a way that I never would have in a classroom; I received this information through firsthand accounts as well as through personal experience. I was also able to witness sustainability being taught to young volunteer groups that now have a broader sense of conservation. And last, I was able to learn and be inspired by all of the conservation groups at the Hawaiʻi Conservation Conference.
Joshua Landkamer joined us as an HWF in summer 2024.
Intern Joshua Landkamer, is a resident of Pāhoa, and is now pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Ecology and Biodiversity at the University of Denver.
