Bio/Introduction

My name is Jaysi Shakespear and I am a nursing major at Southern Utah University. I was raised in Kanab, UT and have grown up hunting, fishing, camping, hiking and exploring the area that I have grown up in. For my EDGE project I am going to be using my internship with the BLM through the IIC at Southern Utah University. I am going to be working with the wildlife biologist at the Kanab Field Office to perform studies and surveys on various animals and their habitats. I am very excited to be able to use this internship as my EDGE project and be able to learn more about the wildlife around the area where I grew up.

Project Overview & Description

This summer I am working as an intern for the BLM in the Kanab Field Office as a Wildlife Technician Intern. This is my second summer working with the BLM and I am very excited about it. As a wildlife intern I will be doing various studies and surveys on the habitats of animals and the numbers of animals that are present in the area I am studying. The data from the studies and surveys will be used to determine how healthy the animals are, if they are doing well in the area, and in some of the places the data that is collected is used to help determine how many hunting tags are given out in the unit. I will be working with the Wildlife Biologist in the office to do these studies so they are done correctly and carefully. It will primarily only be the biologist and I working, but we will have the Range Management team help us if it is needed. I am very excited to be able to spend more time getting to know the area that I grew up in and to collect the data about the animals and help present our findings. I will learn lots about wildlife and their habitats, and I am so excited to do so. At the end of the internship I plan on making a slideshow presentation so show what I have learned and accomplished with my EDGE project.

Project Learning Goals or Intended Outcomes (for you):

1.  Become more comfortable presenting the data that was collected after my EDGE project.

2. Complete my EDGE project with a greater understanding of biology, and wildlife more specifically.

3. Learn how to complete the surveys and studies confidently so that I will not have to rely on my adviser so much.

Project Details

Documentation:





Deliverables:
After my project, I will turn in a slideshow presentation or blog about the experiences that I have had this summer while completing my project. In the slideshow, I plan on showing pictures of the things I accomplished along with the data and a summary of the things that I was able to accomplish with my project.

Reflections

Pre-Flection:

• What excites you about the prospect of working on this project?

I am very excited to be able to start working on my EDGE project. I am anxious to start the surveys and studies about the various wildlife and their habitats. I am most excited about being able to do surveys on the deer population which will determine how many deer tags will be given out in the coming years. I have grown up hunting and live right on the Paunsaugunt hunting unit, which is a trophy deer unit, I am excited to be able to collect data that will impact myself and all those who live around me. I am also excited to be able to learn more about what the local wildlife biologist does and be able to have her teach me how to correctly perform the studies.

• What (if anything) worries you?

I have very few worries going into my project. I feel like I have done a good job at mapping out my project and all the things I want and need to accomplish so I feel good about it. One worry I do have though is that I will struggle communicating to people about the data that was collected while I did my project. I do not have very great public speaking so I am nervous about that, but it is something that I have been working at and hopefully I will be able to be comfortable talking to people.

• When it is all said and done, what do you want this project's story to tell about you?

I want my project to be a reflection about all the hard work that I did through the summer. I do not want my project to just be something that people will overlook. I hope that it will interest other people the way that it interested me. I also hope that I will be able to gain more knowledge about wildlife. I know that the wildlife biologist will do her best to teach me all that she can. I also hope that she will be able to trust me to do her studies without having to worry about me.

• What do you imagine will be your biggest area of growth?

I think that my biggest area of growth will be personally. This project has the potential to teach me lots of things, but I think the biggest thing it will teach me is that I can do things that are completely new to me and be good at them. I will also be able to further my experience in working outside and with animals. I think that I will be very glad that I chose this project because it I think that is has the potential to turn out pretty great. I am very excited to see how it goes.

• If this project goes in the ditch, what do you think will be the cause?

If my project does go in the ditch, I think that it will be because I did not catch on quickly enough on how to complete the surveys and studies that I am to complete. The biologist will be with me for the most part, but after she teaches me I will be out on my own to perform some studies and that will be very difficult if I do not understand how to do what I am assigned to do. The biologist is very busy too so it could be very difficult to try to have her re-teach me how to do things. But I do not think this will be the case.

• Give yourself some good advice now that will help you out when the going gets tough.

Don’t get frustrated with yourself! I get so frustrated with myself and this could be something that could happen throughout the duration of my project. As long as I follow instructions and do what I am told then I think the project will go very smoothly. I also need to make sure that I ask questions and make sure that I am communicating well with the biologist and the others who could be helping me with the project. Communicating with them will be key in the success of the project.

Project Reflection:



Post-Flection: