Going to Girl Scout camp was always a special experience. In elementary school, we would pack up our cars after school let out and drive to one of the nearby Girl Scout-owned camps. We usually ended up in a creaky old cabin that we would try to convince one another was haunted, but I’m sure I was the only one who was ever actually scared by the ghost stories. Nevertheless, I have fond memories of hiking, doing crafts, and getting to spend time with my friends.

I hadn’t thought about Girl Scout camp in a long time, until I heard about Shirley Heinze Land Trust. When I found out that their headquarters are at Meadowbrook Nature Preserve in Valpo, I instantly had flashbacks to camping trips there with my troop. We stayed in various cabins on the property and loved hiking on the trails there. I was beyond excited to return to a place full of memories when I was matched with Shirley Heinze through the CAPS Fellowship!

As a policy engagement fellow for the land trust, I’ve been doing a lot of research on environmental policy. Admittedly, I’ve mainly focused on social welfare and education policies in my previous political science coursework, but I was excited to branch out and see what I could learn about the topic! Legislative decisions at all levels of government impact the environment, as we’ve seen with the Supreme Court’s recent Sackett v. EPA ruling. The decision reduces protections for wetlands under the Clean Water Act, so environmental groups across the country now must fight harder to conserve and restore these precious ecosystems. Ever-evolving policies make the work of land trusts and other non-governmental organizations across the nation incredibly important. 

So far, I’ve mainly been preparing internal briefs to keep the staff informed and updated on policies that may impact Shirley Heinze. We hope to eventually start working on a series of external briefs to educate the public on various topics such as land preservation, renewable energy and food access/production.

I’ve also had the opportunity to visit Twin Oaks Park for the River Forest School Food Program’s Summer Free-for-All Lunch & Learn. Shirley Hinze and other groups bring the “learn” part of the program by hosting an educational activity after the kids eat their lunches. I recently helped out for a “Watershed Day” in which the kids did fun activities that modeled how watersheds and erosion work. As aforementioned, I don’t know much about science, so it was as much a learning experience for me as it was for them!

Additionally, I’ve taken advantage of working on a nature preserve by going on hikes and eating lunch outside with some of my fellow interns. We all enjoy learning about the native plants and insects and truly appreciate getting to work on a nature preserve everyday. 

I’m looking forward to continuing my fellowship at Shirley Heinze and contributing to such an amazing organization. And now when someone asks me what I do here, I can just tell them to read this blog post.

– Grace Aurand, Shirley Heinze Land Trust