NCC: Land Lines – Meet NCC’s 2024 summer interns: Aidan Curran
Aidan Curan NCC intern 2024 (Photo by NCC)
As the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s (NCC’s) internal communications and culture intern for two summers in a row, I am glad to be back to continue the summer intern profile series for 2024. I am excited to showcase the amazing work of our summer interns as they aid in conserving and restoring natural areas from coast to coast to coast.
Aidan Curran is a conservation technician at the Rice Lake Plains Natural Area in Ontario. He graduated in 2018 with a degree in landscape architecture from the University of Guelph. He then graduated with a diploma in urban forestry tech at Fleming College in 2023. Aidan previously volunteered for NCC in 2018 while on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, and has completed a seasonal contract with NCC last year.
Aidan says he found out about NCC through a volunteer opportunity from a former co-worker of his. He shared with me the skills he learned through volunteering, such as tall grass prairie restoration.
Volunteers collecting native prairie seeds on the Rice Lake Plains (Photo by NCC)
“While I was focused on forestry during my studies at Fleming College, I got to learn a bit about the tallgrass prairie ecosystem,” he says. “It was only at NCC that I learned more about the ecosystem, the different relationships that it fosters, and the different animals that rely on these habitats for their survival.”
Thanks to his internship, Aidan said that he has “gained an appreciation and interest” for insects and their roles in the ecosystems his team tends.”
He also said that working with other NCC staff has continued driving his passion in learning more about nature conservation, especially in tall grass prairies.
“Being able to share our interests and our knowledge with one another has made me become more aware of these different areas that I knew little to nothing about. It also makes me realize that there’s so much out there that I still want to learn,” he shares.
Typically, Aidan has an atypical workday, sharing that being open to spontaneity and flexibility in scheduling work plans is needed. “For me, every day is different. One day, I might be working on general treatment involving invasive species, and the next day, it can be site visits and maintenance.”
Outside of his internship, Aidan enjoys pottery, singing and teaching himself the Irish Gaelic language.
“I really like making things with my hands, and [pottery] has been something that I’ve kind of been dabbling in for the past couple of years now, and it’s something that I want to put more time and energy into in future,” he says. He adds that when collecting and distributing seeds and planting native species in restored habitats, he finds a similar enjoyment as well.
When asked for his advice for future interns, he says to “stay curious” as “there’s always more to learn, and there’s always someone who’s happy to teach you about it.” He added that “being open to listening and asking questions leads to more wonder of the natural world.”
Here at NCC, we are confident that his passion and curiosity for nature will inspire us all. Stay tuned for more insightful stories from the field.
The 2024 Conservation Intern Program in Ontario is proudly supported by 407 ETR.
About the Author
Kyla Cortez is the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s internal communications & culture intern for the summer of 2024. She is currently doing a double major in English and book and media studies at the University of Toronto. Aside from journalism and academics, she loves birds, going to parks and travelling to different places.
