Canvas to Conservation
09/12/2025
Despite stepping into a field far outside her major, Jones says the opportunities she experienced this summer expanded her vision for the future.
Summer Program Offers New Experiences
From Canvas to Conservation, Summer Program Offers New Experiences
Emily Jones ‘26, a studio art major from Mount Vernon, Ohio, stepped outside her field
this summer to take on conservation learning in the nation’s capital. Through the
EMU Washington Semester, Jones participated in an immersive two-month experience that
combined environmental work, cross-cultural learning and communal living.
“My experience was a bit different,” Jones explained. “Because you think, oh, you’re a studio art major, you would internship in art. I got a scholarship called the Climate Cohort Scholarship, which meant I had to do a field placement that worked with environmental stuff. Whether it be climate crisis, habitat restoration, all that.”
Jones was placed with the Earth Conservation Corps; an organization committed to habitat restoration and education. “They did habitat restoration, they worked with birds of prey, cleaned up the Anacostia and helped clean up national parks that were near the area,” she said.
Her favorite part quickly became falconry and working with owls. “They had hawks, eagles, owls and everything. We mostly worked with hawks and owls for educational purposes,” Jones explained. “We would have them on the glove, show kids how pollution affects the environment and how it’s affecting birds of prey.”
One bird in particular stood out. “My main goal was to be able to let this one owl get pet by other people,” Jones stated. “When I first came in, there was this barred owl named Anthony. If you ever put your hand close to him, he would just nip at you right away.” Throughout the summer Jones worked with Anthony the most, finally getting him to a point where trainers could pet him on the head. “I really miss him. He was definitely my favorite experience,” she shared.
Jones also dove into other challenging conservation work. “This might be shocking, but cleaning up the river was fun. Having that feeling that you were playing a part, even though it was really small, it meant a lot,” she said.
The work was demanding, particularly on the organization’s rooftop green space. “Earth Conservation Corps had the first green roof in D.C., […]. We had to till up the dirt with pickaxes, and we planted wildflower seeds and used worm casting to help,” Jones explained. “It was just a long, intensive summer. But I don’t regret it.”
Despite stepping into a field far outside her major, Jones says the opportunity expanded her vision for the future. “The fact that I did something outside of a major was amazing,” she reflected. “There's so much other stuff you can explore that you might like that you can incorporate together with your major.”