Reflection One – Inferences and Observations 

Where and with whom I will be working: 

My partners, located in Belleville, southern Illinois. My current research group coordinator is Anna McAtee. She works as a land conservation manager; she oversees the site’s conservation program which includes protecting, stewarding, and monitoring lands conserved by the agency.  

 What I would like to know more about at JJK Heartlands Conservancy: 

  • What is the in-depth process of how this conservancy goes about acquiring land and maintaining it. This includes prairies, trails, parks, etc.  
  • Volunteer programs and what it’s like to work on site with Heartlands. Such Programs include but are not limited to: “Monarch Tagging and Stewardship at Poag Sand Prairie” and “Volunteer Training: Native Seed Collection.” 
  • What is the atmosphere like? Is the site easy to navigate?  
  • Do the staff at Heartlands reflect the companies’ motives and goals in their mannerisms and speech. Do they have positive attitudes? And are they passionate about what they promote? 

Some anticipate obstacles for my upcoming research project: 

I am anticipating difficulties with the initial search for target audiences within the population of adults ranging from 18-25 years of age attending Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville. This is due to the obvious fact of students being relatively busy during school days. I am planning on overcoming this hurdle by starting with some relatively close friends I know for sure will be available to interview in the nearer future weeks.