Casimir Buttar-Miller
High School Apprentice
What do you anticipate will be challenging this summer?
“The bugs. I haven't gotten any ticks yet. I haven’t even seen a tick on me.”
Oh, it will happen.
“I'm kind of immune to ticks.”
You say that now.
“I did SIFT. I did a couple of the research things over in the forest. I've never seen a tick anywhere near me! It's weird. And I've been out there for a week. Everyone else got ticks. Hopefully that'll stay that way, but I definitely compensate for that with mosquitoes.”
What are some things that you've been curious about that have come up with your research team, or surprised you?
“I've found the variety of species pretty surprising. Before, I assumed you'd have a kind of homogenous mix of undergrowth in different parts of the forest. But every single plot we've done so far has been a completely new mix of plants. That's been pretty interesting. I've enjoyed learning some of the terminology and gaining the ability to name different plants, which is not something that I was interested in or had any sort of experience in before.”