Summer Internship Program: Catawba Sustainability Center

Primary Program Area Focus: ANR

1. Describe your plans for this internship.  (i.e. What specifically will the intern be doing?)

The intern will work closely with the farm manager on Virginia Tech’s Catawba Sustainability Center (CSC) which is a 377-acre farm property that focuses on environmentally sustainable practices as they relate to agriculture, forestry and land management. The intern will assist in management of the CSC’s cattle heard through involvement in rotational grazing moves, and data collection such as monthly weight checks, forage sampling, and time and cost analysis. The intern will also work closely with maintenance and production of the CSC’s agroforestry plots such as silvopasture, riparian buffer zones, swale system, and alley cropping. The intern will be involved in the CSC’s property maintenance, as well as the maintenance of its Catawba Greenway Trail. Specific on-farm tasks will include moving temporary electric fence and shade structures, herding and working cattle through a squeeze chute, cutting, raking, and baling dry forages, bush hogging, mowing, and string trimming.

Additionally, the intern will be responsible for coordinating one extension type workshop of their choosing to be held for the general public at the CSC at the conclusion of the internship.

2. Describe the knowledge / skills you expect the intern to gain from this experience.

·      Understanding of environmental sustainability as it relates to agriculture, forestry
       and land management.

·      Understanding of rotational grazing and its impacts on livestock, forages
       development, and soil building.

·      Understanding of agroforestry practices and their relationship to the farm scape.

·      Assessment of regional agricultural production, and its relationship to soil and
       water.

·      Assessment of regional food systems and supply chain.

·      Knowledge to assess needs of regional agricultural producers, and provide
       helpful resources

·      Ability to coordinate a workshop for regional producers

3. How will the intern learn about the breadth of VCE and our various program areas?

The Catawba Sustainability Center is a partner of VCE, and the intern will learn about its significance in the region, and its ability to support agricultural producers on many levels. It is the aim that the intern will learn what goes into coordinating and conducting a VCE sponsored program, and understand VCE’s significance on the community, regional, and state level.