Wearing bright orange safety vests, two women diligently investigate the area near James Branch Cabell Library. They aren’t looking at the street – though they have been mistaken for parking enforcement officers. They’re aiming higher.

The two are interns with Virginia Commonwealth University’s Rice Rivers Center, and they are part of a four-person team with a lofty goal: creating a comprehensive tree inventory of VCU’s Monroe Park and MCV campuses, to highlight the trees’ environmental impact on Richmond. The tree inventory team members are part of the Summer@Rice field research internship program, a joint effort between the Rice Rivers Center and School of Life Sciences and Sustainability, both part of the College of Humanities and Sciences. Over the summer, interns worked with faculty and community partners to learn valuable field-based skills and participate in group excursions. Interns were also paid a stipend for their work. In the fall, interns take a course dedicated to completing final projects based on the Summer@Rice research experience.

Read the full article at VCU News.