Ohio Sea Grant is now accepting applications for the 2025 Community Engaged Internship, a Sea Grant sponsored internship program for undergraduate students. The program’s goal is to broaden participation in coastal professions by providing training and mentorship to the next generation of scientists.
Interns will work on a project titled “Innovative Solutions to Spotted Lanternfly in Coastal Ohio. The internship, which runs from June 2 to Aug. 8 in Lake County, Ohio, will address spotted lanternfly infestation and resultant water quality concerns associated with chemical controls using a multitiered approach.
Invasive spotted lanternflies (SLF) have impacted nurseries and vineyards in the Lake Erie coastal zone in northeast Ohio. These insects feed on plants and are especially attracted to grapevines, hardwoods, and ornamentals – all vital to the local economy. There are no known natural enemies of the SLF to reduce populations in the region.
Instead, social and chemical controls are implemented. Social controls can include removal of host plants, exclusion netting, circle traps, and egg destruction. Chemical controls are more common and involve the use of insecticides that may contaminate groundwater and enter Lake Erie via stormwater runoff. Applied research and community education is needed to better understand and support social controls and reduce reliance on chemical controls.
Applicants must be enrolled in an undergraduate degree program at an institution of higher education, including 2- and 4-year colleges and universities, at the time of application. It is critical that the student intern is bilingual (English/Spanish).
The 2025 application period is now open. All materials for consideration must be submitted by 5 p.m. on March 17, 2025.
For more information, visit our website or contact Dr. Scott Hardy, Ohio Sea Grant extension educator, at hardy.116@osu.edu.
Ohio Sea Grant is supported by The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) School of Environment and Natural Resources, Ohio State University Extension, and NOAA Sea Grant, a network of 34 Sea Grant programs nation-wide dedicated to the protection and sustainable use of marine and Great Lakes resources. Stone Laboratory is Ohio State’s island campus on Lake Erie and is the research, education, and outreach facility of Ohio Sea Grant and part of CFAES School of Environment and Natural Resources.