Internship at Woodlawn Cemetery and Conservancy. by Skylar Cullen

December 15, 2021

I spent my semester this year working with Woodlawn Cemetery to begin restoring their grounds to their initial aesthetic in the mid-1800s when it was founded. I got to work with age old historical documents and transcriptions, as well as government class drone systems to produce a GIS map of the entire cemetery. This map was initially used to create a virtual tour of the grounds and is now being used to pinpoint new places to plant trees. My work here involves researching the history of the grounds to see what trees and plantings may still be standing, to see why things were planted where, and what worked and didn’t in the grounds’ 200 years of existence. I get to help run other internships, work collaboratively with my superiors, and make important decisions about the new landscape we’re developing. I’ve done laser scanning for 3D printing work creating miniature versions of statues in our cemetery, and am now in charge of 3 other interns for the landscape project. My coworkers are all so kind and friendly, and I’m treated far more like an equal than an employee and love spending my days surrounded by the beautiful scenery here.