Photos by Jessica Edwards and Hailey Gibbins
This summer, Horry-Georgetown Technical College students Jessica Edwards and Hailey Gibbins have embarked upon a new adventure! They are measuring black walnut trees in Nebraska as part of a forestry research project.
“We record the height of the tree, the DBH (diameter at breast height), the fertility, quality, and GPS the location,” Edwards says. “Then, at the end of the day, we put all the data we collected into ArcGIS maps. Arc will then show us the locations of the trees and the routes we took to get to each one.” This study will help track or determine environmental factors that affect tree growth.
“My main job is to take a 100 percent tally of black walnut (Juglans nigra) on the Winnebago and Omaha Indian Reservations,” Gibbins says. “Jessica and I get to see some awesome wildlife while submersed in walnut forests and open grassland habitat.”
During their summer internships, the students have taken spectacular photos of natural areas and a variety of wildlife species in Nebraska and neighboring states. Here are just a few shots that they have captured to share with South Carolina Wild!
Photographs by Jessica Edwards
Photographs by Hailey Gibbins
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