FNR Field Report - Madi Medley
Senior wildlife major Madison Medley spent her summer as a natural resource intern with Hamilton County
Parks and Recreation.
Madi emailed Hamilton County asking if they had any available positions and found out they were looking for an intern to join the team based at Strawtown Koteewi Park.
In that role, Madi’s duties included wildlife surveys around the park, from bats to birds to roadkill and overboard surveys, as well as collecting invasive species data at seven of Hamilton County’s parks and preserves, and interpreting the data through ArcGIS for the public and other county departments.
Her knowledge of ArcGIS, mammals, birds and field collection from FNR were “super helpful” to have when starting the internship. Classes like Habitat Management especially prepared her for the work she did in Hamilton County.
“I took home a new knowledge of invasive species, data collection and even the use of some pretty cool
machinery,” the Noblesville, Indiana, native said. “I was trained on a bobcat, bush hogs, an excavator and more. Prairie management was my main focus with all of my new skills.”
The internship stretched Madi in positive ways.
“The most challenging part of my job was the physical labor for sure,” she shared. “Being the only woman on the entire team pushed me to prove to myself and my coworkers that I could do just as much of the grunt work as the rest of them. It was liberating to get out there and do the same jobs at the same quality as my peers. It also gave me a new passion for ensuring all groups of people from all walks of life can get into conservation.”
Her position also included some other inspiring experiences.
“My favorite part of the job was the routine checks on our bird boxes around the park. We had around 35,” Madi noted. “It was heartwarming to watch baby birds grow up in front of me! Riding the bush hog around the prairie was also a very fun experience.
“Another amazing part of my internship was successfully advocating for a wildlife corridor under the main road that divides the park. I spent months collecting data, writing a report and putting together a presentable GIS handout for the Hamilton County Parks and Recreation team leaders. The meeting was a success and the next steps are currently being taken to move this proposal to the level! I’ll be returning this winter to continue data collection.”
Madi says her first FNR related job has only cemented her future goals.
“Nothing changed about my career goals,” the Purdue student chapter of The Wildlife Society member explained. “If anything, it affirmed my desire to be outside in nature while contributing to conservation.”
A collage of images from Madi Medley's internship with Hamilton County Parks and Rec. Top row (left to right): Eastern bluebird chicks getting close to fledging the nest; Eastern bluebird chicks from one of the prairie's bird boxes shortly after hatching. Second row (L to R): Madi bush hogging a section of the prairie, where it was mostly invasives that needed to go; Madi spotted these two deer during an early morning survey, which she said were the best because you see so much wildlife. Row 3: The beautiful prairie at Koteewi; big brown bats from one of the prairie's bat boxes. Featured Stories
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