Environmental Internship Program - 2023 Booklet
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Brooke Beers ’25<br />
CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING<br />
Certificate: Sustainable Energy<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Farm Project Field<br />
Assistant<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
Rubenstein Lab,<br />
Department of Ecology<br />
and Evolutionary Biology,<br />
Princeton University<br />
LOCATION(S)<br />
Princeton, New Jersey<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Daniel Rubenstein,<br />
Class of 1877 Professor<br />
of Zoology, Emeritus,<br />
Professor of Ecology and<br />
Evolutionary Biology,<br />
Emeritus; Gina Talt,<br />
Project Manager, Food<br />
Systems, Office of<br />
Sustainability<br />
I worked on the Three Sisters Project through<br />
the Rubenstein Lab to study the mutualisms<br />
of maize, beans and squash. Our goal was to<br />
experimentally test whether growing these<br />
three plants together helps crop efficiency<br />
and soil health. I was involved with setting up<br />
and starting data collection for the project,<br />
which is still ongoing throughout the fall. I<br />
was also tasked with managing the irrigation<br />
system, a combination of drip tape and piping<br />
that spanned four fields. I learned more about<br />
sustainable farming practices, some hands-on<br />
skills with tools and the basics of data collection<br />
and analysis through JMP software. I was most<br />
interested in the challenges of conducting<br />
research in an agricultural setting, where<br />
conditions are difficult to control. This internship<br />
sparked my interest in increasing agricultural<br />
efficiency sustainably, and I’m now interested in<br />
potentially pursuing a career in that direction.<br />
FOOD SYSTEMS<br />
AND HEALTH<br />
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