Nate Trumbley chose this environmental internship as well as focusing on sustainability at Woodland Park to complete his senior project.

After going to one of the many workshops this environmental center offers, he learned how to make the Region 16 school district sustainable. This inspired Trumbley and before even signing up to intern he knew he was passionate about it.

Trumbley’s goal was to make his community as well as Woodland more environmentally friendly.

“There’s a program called the Green Leaf Schools Program. It’s a statewide initiative to just promote sustainability and environmental education. So Woodland is actually a Greenleaf school. So that was one of the things and it was fun and interesting because I was able to learn about all these opportunities to become sustainable,” said Trumbley.

Trumbley’s internship shined a light onto things he could do to help Woodland. When Trumbley realized that he could make even a small difference in his community, he knew this was perfect for him.

“I’ve had a great experience with my internship so far. I definitely still want to go into the realm of Wildlife Science/Wildlife Biology. Doing this internship has definitely helped me find out that I am interested in going into this career,” said Trumbley.

Typically, upperclassmen will complete an internship in a career they want to pursue, but end up not enjoying it. For Trumbley, this was not the case. This internship heightened his drive for environmental science/biology.

Trumbley also has challenged himself at this internship by trying new things he wouldn’t necessarily be interested in before.

“The main thing I’ve been doing at the internship, it’s called Project Feederwatch. I haven’t really taken it upon myself to go and birdwatch until I’ve been part of the program.”

With expanding his horizons and trying this new hobby, he discovered this possible life-long opportunity. This project as well as many other things he is involved in such as workshops and helping with different exhibits are things he completes at the environmental center.

While involving himself into different activities, Trumbley has gained a lot from this internship. He truly believes that having a passion and finding other people that have the same passion is the most important part of shaping your future. Trumbley has accomplished this and will continue his interests in environmental sciences in his future.