Austin College
AC-5: Immersive Experience

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 Selah, Bamberger Ranch in Johnson City, 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. Selah, Bamberger Ranch is a 5,500-acre working ranch with cattle and scimitar horned oryx (an endangered African antelope). The ranch offers a large array of land stewardship education opportunities including tours, field days, and workshops focused on demonstrating sound stewardship principles and practices. Selah is one of the largest privately owned long-term habitat restoration projects in the country and the best example of conservation on private land in Texas. 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 recent example being Tropical Ecology and Conservation in Panama.