Jessica Henshaw Grant has been selected to fill the first Adirondack Land Trust internship. She will work this summer to document places we’ve protected that provide recreational benefits to Adirondack communities.
Originally from Homer, AK, Grant completed a bachelor’s degree in conservation biology from SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry in 2019, with a minor in environmental policy and communications. She is currently an intern with state senator Rachel May, of Syracuse. Previously she worked as a kayak guide in the San Juan Islands and as a trail crew volunteer with the Student Conservation Association, and she has conducted academic research, including a fungi inventory in Ecuador and a capstone project to create a plan for recreational use of a 120-acre property in Central New York.
This summer Grant will explore more than 20 sites conserved by the Adirondack Land Trust that provide public access, sharing her travels via social media and an ArcGIS StoryMap, which combines text, interactive maps, images and other digital media. The internship is an independent conservation communications project, and it is expected to proceed, barring unforeseen changes in public health and safety guidance.
We are grateful to board member Barbara Glaser for providing support to initiate this internship. Glaser, along with the late conservationist Clarence Petty and his son Ed, has also founded internships for the Adirondack Council and The Nature Conservancy’s Adirondack Chapter, giving dozens of young people a substantive start on careers in conservation. For information on how to help the internship continue in future years, please contact Nancy Van Wie, director of philanthropy, at .
Photo: Jessica Henshaw Grant, provided