Once you make that connection to a professor, what I have noticed is they will come to you with projects. They’re really attentive to students’ needs and interests.
When a professor asked her to collaborate with an environmental organization on creating a new walking trail in town, Shayla Flaherty jumped at the chance to put her geography knowledge to use in the real world.
“I wanted to expand on the skills I’m learning in class…” said Shayla, who is majoring in geography with a concentration in environmental planning and conservation. “When I graduate and get a job, I’ll be working in a community. It’s really important to get that hands-on experience now.”
Shayla is one of several geography students who completed internships working on the development of the Old State Farm Trail, which will stretch 1.8 miles through fields and woods off Summer Street in Bridgewater. The project follows years of advocacy by the nonprofit Natural Resources Trust of Bridgewater to preserve a large parcel of land that was once a farm associated with the nearby state prison.
Students researched the area’s Indigenous roots and its development as a home for Irish immigrants crowded out of Boston in the 1850s. They also studied natural features and developed a nature-based scavenger hunt for kids to complete as they walk the trail.
Students mapped the path and developed materials that will be installed on kiosks. They even created an interactive digital guide that explains how the project fits into the wider fabric of conserved land in Bridgewater and West Bridgewater – including trails on the BSU campus.
“I was so impressed,” said the students’ mentor, Dr. Boah Kim, an assistant professor of geography. “This is a real project where they collaborate with a nonprofit organization. They’re helping create something of value.”
Kitty Doherty of the Natural Resources Trust of Bridgewater is pleased with the breadth of the students’ work and hopes they learned more about the community in which they attend school. They took the project much further than would have been otherwise possible, Doherty said.
Shayla appreciated the opportunity to hone her communication skills and become more adept at GIS, a computer-based technology to create maps and analyze data. Work on the trail project is emblematic of the many opportunities students have at BSU, she said.
“Once you make that connection to a professor, what I have noticed is they will come to you with projects,” she said. “They’re really attentive to students’ needs and interests.”
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