Summer Internship Program: Floyd County

Primary Program Area Focus: Horticulture and Landscape  

The Lorene “Allie” Wright Clevinger Endowment for Virginia Cooperative Extension was established by her daughter, Donna Lynn Clevinger, Ph.D., in memory of her mother, who was a graduate of the landscape design program at Virginia Tech. The endowment established an internship program supporting experiential learning opportunities for Virginia Tech students who are interested in gaining professional experience in horticulture and landscape design.

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

The intern will be working through the Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) - Floyd Office, to address design and development components of the future Buffalo Forest Recreation Area in Floyd, Virginia. While the overall project is very large, and it will be involving Floyd County Administration, Floyd County Parks and Recreation, and Virginia Department of Forestry (VDF), the bulk of Intern project responsibility will be conducted through the Floyd VCE Office.

The Buffalo Forest Recreation Area is a 41-acre piece of property located just about Floyd County High School. The overall project is being supported by a $75,000 VDF grant that has been awarded to the County, and there are multiple components within the project that will address General Public benefits, the Floyd County School System, and the greater Environmental benefits of having an education/recreation venue in Floyd County.

Specifically, Intern responsibility will be to work with multiple entities (VT professors, Extension Agents, hired Private Landscape Firm/s, local Government and VDF) to plan and design an education centered recreation venue. The project is slated to include a properly landscaped botanical garden containing identified trees, shrubs and flowers based upon the varietal requirements in Southwest Virginia. Additionally, there is a public arrival and kiosk location that will require landscape design and attention to first impression. Lastly, there will be 8 feet wide hiking trails that will highlight access to a creekside riparian landscape demonstration, eastern hemlock preservation stand, and additional educational alcoves throughout the property.

The intern will learn the importance of building relationships with agency professionals, local government personnel, and construction teams. The intern may help create marketing and promotional materials for the project and/or Extension needs. Lastly, if scheduling or work load permits, the Intern may assist in creating and implementing horticulture-focused youth programming and a horticulture and/or landscape design themed class during 4-H Camp. An Intern will be exposed to interdisciplinary programs working with FCS, FNP, 4-H, and ANR.

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

A participating intern will gain knowledge and skills in the cooperating functions of local government agencies (and their department roles) in small to mid-sized community design and implementation projects. Time management, meeting scheduling, private and public group input discussion, and general planning activities will all be introduced as part of daily activity.

Horticulture and the field of Landscape Design will be emphasized in the development of the educational botanical garden, and supported by VT professors, VCE Agents/staff, and potentially

design industry professionals. Customer service, marketing, and best practices when educating the public will be continually demonstrated during project development. The intern will also gain more hands-on skills in horticulture including soil sampling, landscape design, and planting demonstration. An Intern will experience the process of VCE program identification, implementation, and evaluation. The intern will gain practice in public speaking as well as tailoring programs and messages to a prospective audience. They will also learn the benefits of partnerships exemplifying that team collaboration yields more impactful results.

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

On starting their position, we will give the intern a brief overview of VCE and the services we provide to our communities. The Intern may also aid in creating or implementing interdisciplinary programs that involve 4-H, FCS, FNP, ANR, and the Master Gardener Program giving them exposure to the many program areas. Most importantly, the Intern will be introduced to a multitude of contacts that VCE encounters between public, private, and governmental entities.