Austin College
AC-5: Immersive Experience

1) We offer three exclusive Austin College Environmental Studies Summer Internships. They are intensive 6-10 week experiences at three different host institutions: The Land Institute in Salina, Kansas; The Little Traverse Conservancy in Harbor Springs, Michigan; and The East Foundation, 45 minutes south of Hebbronville, Texas. At The Land Institute, interns learn about and participate in perennial grain crop research. Perennial grains would require much less plowing and planting (and thus less CO2 emissions) and would be more drought resistant, which provides big economic and social benefits to both farmers and consumers. The Little Traverse Conservancy protects natural habitats and provides environmental education opportunities to the people of Northern Michigan. The Conservancy owns nature preserves, working forest reserves, and holds conservation easements on many other properties. The forest reserves are managed through sustainable timber harvests. The East Foundation manages more than 200,000 acres of south Texas rangeland, operating six ranches that act as a "working laboratory" for scientists working to address issues with land and wildlife management.
2) Additionally, we offer mini-mester courses during January (called Janterms) that frequently include travel components and immersive experiences. Some of these are sustainability-themed, a past example being Tropical Ecology and Conservation in Panama.