This year three 11th grade students from High Tech High North County are completing a 4-week internship as a part of their junior year project. They are working with Park Rangers on habitat restoration, trail maintenance, educational, and Sikes Adobe projects. The Park is lucky to have such motivated and enthusiastic interns. Here is more about them:

My name is Bonnie May and I am an 11th grader at High Tech High North County. One of our course requirements for junior year is a month-long, full time internship, so I am working at the San Dieguito River Park until June 10. I have always been interested in careers relating to the environment, and I wanted to learn more about what park rangers do on a daily basis. Over the course of my internship, I will be working with different rangers and park employees under the mentorship of Leana Bulay to help with different projects around the park. In just the first week, I have already learned a great deal about native plants and the importance of conservation. My partners and I have spent time weeding, organizing, hiking, and assembling an irrigation system. Everyone at the park has been exceptionally friendly, welcoming, and helpful. All of the employees have been extremely kind towards me, they have given me guidance wherever needed, and they have constantly been teaching me about the Park and environment. I have had a great experience so far working at SDRP and I am excited for the rest of my internship.

My name is Liam Chambers and I’m an 11th grader at High Tech High North County. I’ve spent the majority of my life in Ramona, enjoying the many trails and reservoirs around Cuyamaca and the Escondido area. I have had the wonderful privilege of working as a full time intern with the San Dieguito River Park, removing invasive and non-native plant life from trails, protecting and maintaining native plants, and making trails more accessible for recreation. Though a lot of the work has been physically demanding, I see a lot of the value in maintaining our parks, reserves, and reservoirs. I have a lot better appreciation for the massive amount of work that goes into them and hope to continue working with the river park as a volunteer well after my internship is over.

Hello, my name is Dominic Dudley. I go to High Tech High North County and I am an intern at the San Dieguito River Park. I am interning along with two of my classmates, Bonnie and Liam. We will be working with the river park for 4 weeks as a part of our junior year. I’ve worked with the river park in the past for another school project in March helping with some habitat restoration work and contributed to a video about the park and what they do, which can be found on their website. For the rest of this month, I hope to help with more of the habitat restoration to make San Diego county more beautiful.