Summer Internship Program: Middlesex

Primary Program Area Focus:  ANR

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

The summer internship for Middlesex county will provide a great overview of Virginia Cooperative Extension, as well as valuable experience in developing, planning, and leading summer educational programs across Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR), and 4-H program areas.  The intern will work under the direction of the ANR Extension Agent but will collaborate on programs with the 4-H Educator.

Programs the intern will assist with include:

-Virginia On-Farm Corn Research (ongoing throughout the summer)

            - assist with the identification of future on-farm research needs

            - assist with research plots and field troubleshooting

            - data collection, compilation, and analysis

- Middlesex Public Library Garden Series

            - plan and develop topics to teach local stakeholders

            - teach at least 3 times

            - market each topic and time

- Mathews/Middlesex Master Gardeners speaking engagement

- assisting with the upkeep and harvesting of the vegetable garden

            - teach a timely topic to the Master Gardeners of their choosing

- Compass Academy Summer Garden

            - upkeep of the garden at Compass Academy in Saluda

            - plant and grow fall plants for Agent-led teaching topics and programming for the fall

- 4-H Junior Camp at Jamestown 4-H Center (June 9-13, 2025)

            - planning camp activities

            - purchasing supplies for camp

            - assisting with camper check-in and check-out

            - developing and teaching a class at camp

            - planning and assisting with teen counselor training

            - supervising campers and counselors while at camp

- Help with 4-H Club Start-up 

- Raise awareness throughout the community about this new opportunity for youth 

- Recruit volunteers 

- Assist with planning activities for the club 

- Help volunteers with the process of beginning the club 

-Learn about, help plan, and possibly alter existing programs such as: 

-       Embryology – assist this program bringing chicken eggs into all the 2nd grade classrooms at Middlesex Elementary School for students to learn first-hand about the lifecycle of chickens. Teach students learned about the parts of the eggs, the transformation happening within the eggs, the functions of the equipment, and what the developing chicken needs to grow. Each classroom had an incubator in their classroom to grow the chick embryos, and students put together a brooder box where the chicks would stay for the first week after they were hatched.  

-       Owl Exploration – Assist with this program designed for the 3rd grade classrooms at the Elementary School and students were taught about the owls in this area, their adaptations, their habitats, and their behaviors. After this portion of the program, students worked in groups to dissect owl pellets and determined what kind of animals the owl had eaten based on the bones they found.

-       Living Systems – assist with this program created for 4th grade classrooms and students were given a worm habitat they put together to keep in the classroom to observe the activity of worms and plant growth. This program focused on the interrelationship between earthworms and plants, their different structures, and how their survival depends on photosynthesis. 

-       Compass Academy Service-Learning Project – assist with this continual program throughout the spring at Compass Academy where students participated in a service-learning project that had the purpose of transforming their school garden into a community garden. This was a partnership between 4-H and Compass Academy where students were given the opportunity to choose the plants to grow from seeds in their classroom, form partnerships within the community, raise awareness about their community garden, and plant their seedlings in the garden, learn about garden maintenance, and explore trap cropping and companion planting.

-       Reality Store - Students participate in a money management simulation where each student is assigned a career, salary, and family. During their time in the simulation, students must visit different stations where they will pay for their bills including housing, transportation, childcare, food, entertainment, etc. This is an excellent opportunity for students to practice money management and good decision making.  

-       Butterfly Lifecycle - This program gives students the opportunity to experience caterpillars transforming into butterflies in their classroom and then release them into nature. Along with this hands-on experience, students will learn about the specifics of the butterfly life cycle, their role in pollination, their habitat, migration, and their impact on nature.

- Participate in Community Outreach 

- Attend Farmers Markets 

- Visit local community Association meetings (Kiwanis, Rotary Club. Etc.) 

- Create flyers, advertisements, and newspaper stories for ANR and 4-H programming 

- Attend Community Events

- Develop an ANR or 4-H based program in Middlesex County

- develop a program of their choice with assistance from the 4-H Educator or the ANR Agent

- market and run the program

- create an evaluation form for building upon the program

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

The intern will gain knowledge/skills in:

-    interpersonal and communication skills both within VCE, outside organizations, and the          public
-    organizational skills
-    crop production techniques
-    research methods and data collection
-    agronomic practice
-    curriculum development for youth
-    records management
-    risk management
-    working with youth ages 5-19
-    youth behavior management
-    computer skills (i.e. Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Google Drive, Zoom)
-    extension program evaluation
-    experiential learning and life skills models
-    working independently
-    time managment
-    obtaining sponsorships and gathering funds

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

The intern will be exposed to VCE by way of working with the agents in the office who in turn collaborate with many other agents and specialists (primarily Tidewater AREC faculty) and agribusiness and community partners to increase the stature of agriculture in Southampton County.  The emphasis will be on hands-on, experiential learning and seeing all of the aspects of Extension.  Additionally, online training and resources will bolster the experience where necessary and beneficial.