Jennifer Santoro, a graduate student at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment, is joining the Virginia Chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation as an intern this summer. Based out of the Marshall office, Jennifer hopes to participate in the MEGA-Transect Project, aid in volunteer outreach, and learn about orchard activities such as pollination and inoculation. Currently, she is visiting the chestnut orchards in Northern Virginia and researching the effects of pests on orchard-grown trees.
Jennifer is nearing the completion of her graduate studies at Duke and will earn her Masters of Forestry and Masters of Environmental Management degrees in December. Her studies have focused heavily on forest management and ecological modeling. She is excited to be working with VA-TACF this summer since her masters project focuses on environmental variables that influence American chestnut habitat suitability.
Forestry has been one of Jennifer’s passions from a young age, and she hopes that her experience with VA-TACF will help her to apply her scientific knowledge to a noble real-world issue. After graduation, she would like to work for a non-profit organization or environmental consulting firm that emphasizes the importance of land conservation and management while encouraging others to be stewards to the land.
Jennifer’s internship is funded through the generous contributions of Mr. Fred Stanback and family, long-time donors to both the American Chestnut Foundation and the Nicholas School of the Environment.
Photo by Ansel Bubel, also a masters student at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment.
