Meet Kaleb Burns, University of New England Senior, who is joining Saco Valley Land Trust for a Winter-Spring Internship!
Kaleb hails from Massachusetts and grew up with his mother, father and older sister. He became interested in the Environmental Sciences as a senior in high school through an influential teacher.
Kaleb is busy with Environmental Science as his Major with Anthropology and Political Science as a double Minor. He has done volunteer work with the American Chestnut Foundation under the guidance of his professor, Dr. Klak. This year he is serving as the president of the UNE Anthropology Club.
He reports he has always loved the outdoors, and is excited to start learning how land trusts operate and the role they play in tackling some of the big issues planet earth and all its inhabitants face. We are excited to have him learning about and supporting our mission.
In early February Kaleb joined SVLT board members on a monitoring trip to Great Cranberry Marsh. The team surveyed the 54 acres of wetlands and forest.
Boundaries were monitored to ensure there were no infringements. Evidence of the 1947 fire was identified on stumps and standing trees.
Deer and fisher or raccoon tracks were spotted on the property. A Tupelo tree, also known as black gum, was identified. Board member Richard Rhames remembered that its size has previously named it the largest of its kind in the region. Cranberry marshes are an ideal environment for these trees. They grow well in acidic, moist, and well-drained soils.
Great Cranberry Marsh Easement is not open to the public for recreation. Occasionally the land trust will bring people out on the property for guided walks but in general, it is reserved for ecological integrity.
