Name: Carol Bowe

Class Year: 2017

Internship Placement: Radnor to River and Tennessee Parks and Greenways (TennGreen) in Nashville.

What’s happening? We’d love to hear how your internship is going.

This summer I am interning at two non-profits: Radnor to River and Tennessee Parks and Greenways (TennGreen) in Nashville. So not only do I get to do environmental work, but I also get to explore a new city! I am working on two projects this summer.

There is an ecological corridor along the West of Nashville which needs to be protected. One way TennGreen is planning to do this is to create a coalition of the environmental groups which exist along it. So this summer I am helping to organize an initial meeting between these groups.

Also, there is a part of this corridor which is under immediate threat of development, the Nashville Highlands. It is an old development that was approved decades ago and so it is not up to current environmental standards. It is filled with a number of key environmental features such as steep slopes, caves, and sensitive species. So my major project with Radnor to River is to help protect this 200 acre piece of land through a grassroots effort.

Why I applied for my internship:

When I graduate from Bryn Mawr, my dream is to teach high school physics. I love physics because it is able to describe the world around us using math. And the first realization of that was the most incredible experience of my life. I want to be able to give that experience to other people. However, I would also like to provide more than just an education in physics.

I believe that environmental education in high school is extremely important given the current state of our planet. However, most high school students have little to no knowledge about sustainability or the environment because nobody is teaching them. I want to incorporate sustainability education into my physics lessons and I think that the two subjects are so closely linked that I can do it.

Having this summer experience will help me to incorporate environmental and sustainability education into my teaching. It will give me experiences to draw on and to talk about to my future students so that they too will be inspired. Who knows, maybe I will even teach in Nashville someday!