Environmental intern Britta Moyer has spent her summer at Prairie State updating permit renewal documents and taking water samples for regulatory compliance.
Moyer has spent many hours revising and updating the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure plan. She has also been researching monarch butterflies; her goal is to boost their population near the campus, which has decreased nationally by 88% since 1999.
“This internship has connected my classwork to real-world experience.” Paperwork and permits have become more interesting to her after relating them to her projects at Prairie State.
Moyer’s favorite part of this internship has been flying the drone to take in-progress photos of mine reclamation. She also enjoys taking an active role in weekly departmental meetings.
Moyer has learned more about water sampling and has taken the responsibility for some of these samples. “It has been an eye-opener to see how many regulations Prairie State needs to closely follow to ensure constant compliance.”
Moyer has completed her research on monarch butterflies. She will now work with others in her department to determine if and how they will replant milkweed in other areas to encourage population growth.
Moyer’s career plans remain in environmental engineering. Her internship has given her the tools she needs to continue working in the power generation industry.