Tag Archives: nature conservancy

Apply Now for the Hubbard Fellowship!

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We are now accepting applications for the 6th class of Hubbard Fellows with The Nature Conservancy in Nebraska.  Application deadline is September 21, and the position will run from February 2019 through January of 2020.

This has been one of the most satisfying programs I’ve ever been involved with.  The opportunity to supervise and mentor young, bright future conservation leaders is incredibly energizing, and fills me with hope.  If you or someone you know is interested in learning more about the Fellowship, you can click here or just go to the Hubbard Fellowship tab at the top of this blog’s home page.

Current Fellows Alex and Olivia (left), along with TNC staffer Amanda Hefner and former Fellow Katharine Hogan prepare themselves to collect data at The Niobrara Valley Preserve.

The Hubbard Fellowship program is designed to help recent college graduates get comprehensive experience with a conservation organization and give them a big leg up toward their career.  The hope is to bypass the need to spend several years working short-term seasonal jobs to gain a variety of experiences by giving them all those experiences within one position.

Fellows become an integral part of our land management and restoration team – harvesting and planting seeds, killing weeds, clearing trees and brush, fixing fences, helping with bison roundups, and much more.  They also collect data and interact with a number of scientists and research projects.  Beyond that, however, they are also very active in communication and outreach, leading volunteer work days and sandhill crane viewing tours, speaking to various audiences, writing blog posts and newsletter articles, and helping with our social media presence.  They get a chance to learn about and help with fundraising, see how budgeting and financial management works, and become active participants in conservation strategy meetings and discussions.  Fellows attend our statewide board meetings, are active participants in our statewide strategy meetings and workshops, and attend multiple conferences in and out of the state.

On a tour during a statewide conservation conference, Dillon and Jasmine pause to contemplate their futures.

Beyond those experiences, Fellows also develop and implement an independent project that both fits their particular interests and fills a need for our program.  Those projects have included field research, social science research, enhancing our volunteer program, developing educational materials, and more.  Those projects give Fellows in-depth experience within a topic of interest, but also a substantial accomplishment to point to as they move toward graduate school or apply for permanent jobs.

Evan collects insects for a research project being conducted by a visiting scientist from Kansas State University.

We are looking for motivated, future conservation leaders who want to live and work in rural Nebraska and become an integral part of our conservation efforts for a year.  The application process includes a short essay and letter of reference, in addition to a cover letter and resume.  All materials must be submitted by midnight on September 21, 2018.  Housing is provided for the Fellows, right in the middle of our Platte River Prairies, west of Grand Island, Nebraska.

Please pass this on to anyone you think might be interested.  Thanks!

Katharine and Eric explore a waterfall at the Niobrara Valley Preserve during a staff canoe trip down the Niobrara River.

Sand Wasps

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I was introduced to sand wasps (Bembix sp) by Mike Arduser when he came to visit the Platte River Prairies back in 2012.  As we stood together in a sand prairie, a bee-like creature was zipping around us with incredible speed.  Mike explained that it was a sand wasp, and that it wasn’t interested in us, but rather was looking for flies that might be hanging around us.  Since that day, I’ve paid much more attention to sand wasps and have seen them all over the place in sandy places.

Sand wasp (Bembix americana spinolae) burrowing in sand in a blowout. The Nature Conservancy's Niobrara Valley Preserve.

Sand wasp (Bembix americana spinolae) burrowing in sand in a blowout. The Nature Conservancy’s Niobrara Valley Preserve.  This wasp was about 1/2 inch long.

While we were exploring a big sand blowout last week at the Niobrara Valley Preserve, there were lots of sand wasps buzzing around, and we found some of their nest burrows.  I took a little time to sit near a couple nests and photograph the females as they worked to excavate them.  The wind appeared to be blowing just as much sand back into the holes as the bees were digging out…

Here's the same wasp as above as it digs sand out of its burrow.

Here’s the same wasp as above as it digs sand out of its burrow.

The video below shows both the blowing sand and the valiant effort of the wasp to excavate its burrow despite the wind.  If the video doesn’t appear correctly, try clicking on the title of this post to view it through an internet browser.

Mike tells me these sand wasps and their relatives catch and paralyze flies for their young.  They lay eggs in their burrows and provide the flies as food for the larvae.  Females, of course, do all the work to create the burrows, catch the flies and lay the eggs.  The males are just around for mating purposes.  While the wasp larvae eat flies, both the adult males and females feed on nectar and pollen.

Here are a few more images of the sand wasps we saw last week, along with the blowout they were living in.

A big blowout where wind keeps sand moving and open.

A big blowout where wind keeps sand moving and open.

The sand wasp shown earlier takes off and twists its body to zip away.

The sand wasp shown earlier takes off and twists its body to zip away.

This was a little smaller wasp from a different species that was nesting in a different part of the blowout from the first wasp.

This was a smaller wasp from a different Bembix species that was nesting in the same blowout as the first wasp.

...and that wasp was also digging its burrow.

…and that wasp was also digging its burrow.

As often happens with invertebrates, once I’ve been introduced to a creature, I start seeing it everywhere.  Even better, I’ve yet to meet an invertebrate that doesn’t have a fascinating background story.  It’s an awesome world we live in, and we share it with some pretty great neighbors.

Thanks, as always, to Mike Arduser for his help with identification and ecology.