Internship programs are all about learning – learning your discipline; learning about work environments and careers; about time management and teamwork; about yourself.
One key requirement for NEON site construction is that construction activities have zero impact on the surrounding ecosystem – because any disturbance interferes with NEON’s ability to capture a true baseline for U.S. ecology.
In the latest issue of American Scientist, NEON Citizen Science Director Sandra Henderson and Chicago Botanic Garden Senior Scientist Kayri Havens describe the evolution of the six-year-old NEON citizen science program Project Budburst and tie it back to its historic roots in the observations recorded by naturalists and amateur scientists of centuries past.