Conservation Planning & Research

The Morton Arboretum

Mentors

Emily Beckman, Tree Conservation Research Assistant II, Global Tree Conservation Program
Amy Byrne, Global Tree Conservation Assistant & Oak Consortium Coordinator, Global Tree Conservation Program
Murphy Westwood, PhD, Director of Global Tree Conservation, Global Tree Conservation Program

Learning Opportunity

If you are interested in plant conservation and communities, this internship will give you real-world conservation planning experience and a background working with experts at one of the top arboreta and tree science centers in the world. Additionally, you will understand the types of spatial data used in conservation. Experience gained through this internship is relevant to individuals who are considering transitioning into a variety of career paths, including ecological research, conservation planning, and land management. The intern will gain knowledge about plant collections, the role of spatial data in species conservation, and current issues in tree conservation.

Company Overview

The Morton Arboretum is an internationally recognized nonprofit organization dedicated to collecting and studying trees, shrubs, and other plants from around the world, to displaying them across our 1700 square acres. Over 1 million people visit our living laboratory each year. Join our Science and Conservation department to act locally to protect trees in the Chicago region, work globally to prevent the extinction of trees, and to inspire and engage the next generation of tree scientists.

Internship Description

Effective species-specific conservation planning requires two major types of spatial data: 1) points representing the wild distribution of target threatened species and 2) records of which wild populations are conserved in collections, such as botanic garden living collections or seed banks. These off-site or “ex situ” collections are genetic repositories that provide plant material for vital conservation activities such as reintroduction or reinforcement of wild populations. Gathering and processing both wild distribution (“in situ”) data and ex situ wild origin data is an important step in creating a process or “workflow” for assessing species-level conservation needs. Ideally, all these records would have a latitude and longitude associated with them, but of course this is not the reality. Therefore, in order to understand a species’ native distribution and representation in conservation collections, written locality descriptions must be “geolocated.” There are a variety of tools for finding latitude and longitude based on a text description, with varying levels of automation versus manual determination. The intern will aid in creating a workflow for finding latitude, longitude, and measure of uncertainty for locality descriptions from ex situ and in situ point data, and trial the workflow for threatened oak species. While the internship can be entirely remote, the intern and mentor(s) will hold a weekly one-hour check-in call or video meeting. Other meetings will be held as needed to support the success of the intern’s project.

Specific Objectives

Working with the mentor, the intern will:

  • Understand the role of botanic gardens in plant conservation
  • Create a workflow for finding the latitude and longitude of plant records with locality descriptions
  • Trial the workflow for threatened oak species to develop scientifically informed conservation recommendations

Qualifications

  • Strong skills in organization, critical thinking, and writing required
  • Well-versed in Microsoft Office, and be willing to learn new skills
  • Basic skills in R programming language would be beneficial, but are not necessary for success
  • Must be self-motivated