Leopold Intern Program

Elder Intern 2022                Joyce Kuster

LLA's neighbor, Joyce Kuster, is a Master Gardener who sneaks over to the Starker-Leopold yards when we are not looking and works her magic on our flowerbeds.  A humble lady who does not like her picture taken, Joyce is a great volunteer and supporter!

Intern 2020-2021              Covid-19

Elder Intern 2019          Dean S. Hurliman

Dean Hurliman was the LLA's Elder Intern for 2019.  You may already know Dean as the "Woodcarver Poet" who has been so generous with his art.  Dean did normal intern jobs like house maintenance in addition to gifting us over 20 of his carved birds, which include both waterfowl and extinct species.  Then he presented us with his unpublished poetry collection, which LLA has put into booklet form as a first step in publishing.

Also Dean and his wife, Karen have both  worked physically hard on Landscape Management projects and they have assisted with the many receptions we have held this year.

Thick-billed-Parrot-in-Cons.jpg

 

 

Student Intern 2018          Brandon Nelson

Brandon Nelson came to Burlington from Cedar Falls to intern at the Starr's Cave Nature Center for Des Moines County Conservation.  Brandon's focus as a naturalist is working with children.  He needed at place to stay, so an agreement was made that he could use a bedroom at the Leopold House for the summer if he did double duty as an intern for us, too. (Des Moines County Conservation also helped out with a donation toward the utilities and other expenses.  The arrangement worked out very well.  Brandon helped with mowing and other outdoor jobs and did some reading and studying about Leopold with members of our Board.  We hope to see him back in Burlington often.



Elder Intern 2017          Paul Ziglar

2017 added a new angle to fostering conservation leadership based on Leopold's adventures around the Lug-ins-Land Compound and Burlington.  In addition to youthful interns, also important are the retired Leopold fans, who now want to engage the Leopold Legacy further than they previously had time for.  So this year we expanded the intern idea to an elder/intern session utilizing the skills of an older Leopold fan.  Paul Ziglar, himself a native Prospect Hill boy, signed on to help develop this idea.  His program focused on projects around the house and grounds, reading deeper into Aldo's essays, and helping to host our various guests and events. Paul worked with Steve on pruning and caring for the grounds, and Paul and his wife, Cathy, painted the front porch steps.  He has continued to work on the grounds and Land Restoration projects. 

Hazellnut,-NR#9--Declined-f.jpg Paul working on one of LLA's Land Restoration projects.

 

Student Intern 2016          Lou Krieger-Coen      

Our first summer intern, Lou Krieger-Coen, is a student at the University of Iowa.  She was sponsored by a generous grant and worked on several projects.  One of her major accomplishments was the removal of vines from the house to prevent siding damage.  She also removed exotics from the wildflower garden, and did some painting.  She studied local Leopold history and essays, carrying the information back to her professors.

Intern-Lou-Krieger-Coen.jpg                          Lou works on removing Virginia creeper vines from the Leopold Childhood Home.