Wild Basin Nature Preserve-Stewardship and Outreach Intern
This role pushed me to communicate meaningful, science-backed messages in a way that felt accessible, visually compelling, and authentically connected to the Austin community.
Timeline Panels: I researched and designed an interactive timeline tracing the history of Wild Basin and the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve from the 1980s to present day. The process involved going through Wild Basin's physical and digital archives to pull accurate dates, events, and historical context, then cross-referencing that information against outside sources to verify accuracy.
It was a fun challenge to find visuals to match each era! I sourced images from the archive itself as well as government and public domain sources, since Wild Basin is co-managed by Travis County, making many official records and photographs available for public use.
Below is a series of educational panels about Wild Basin and the BCP that are now permanently displayed at the Wild Basin Creative Research Center for their visitor gallery.
This was taken at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center during their annual Nature Nights event, where I connected with families and community members through hands-on discussions about fossils and local ecology.
Community Outreach: I had the opportunity to represent Wild Basin at various environmental events across Austin. I acted as the ambassador for their creative research center and provided information on the conservation efforts that were undertaken there.
I really enjoyed speaking with people of all ages about environmental stewardship, native ecosystems, and the importance of conservation in Central Texas. This experience has allowed me to further develop my skills in public speaking and community involvement as I answered both general and in-depth questions tailored to each event’s focus.
Content Series: I developed a multi-post Instagram campaign for Pollinator Week, educating followers on the critical role pollinators play in ecosystem health and food sustainability. The series spotlighted five featured pollinators (bees, hummingbirds, monarch butterflies, bats, and flies). I paired wildlife photography with accessible and fact-driven captions to highlight each species' unique contributions.
The campaign opened with an awareness post noting that nearly 90% of all flowering plant species depend on animal pollinators, then built engagement throughout the week by challenging followers to look beyond bees and recognize the surprising diversity of pollinators around them. The series aimed to deepen public appreciation for biodiversity conservation while reinforcing Wild Basin's voice as a trusted environmental research institution.
To create visual cohesion across the series, I used a consistent yellow color theme throughout each post so the campaign reads as a unified collection on the grid.