Life as an Intern at Bosque Santiago

When IES Abroad first connected me with Bosque Santiago, I was confused as to what exactly it was and even more confused as to what I would do there. Researching online helped me understand that it was a space with hiking trails and guided tours, which made me nervous as I wasn't sure if I would be expected to guide Chileans with my limited Spanish. Yet, my interview with Professor Jaime Mendez Parada went well, and they accepted me as an intern. When I went to meet with my supervisor during the week of IES Abroad orientation, I didn't know what to expect. After taking the subway and a bus, I walked from the Bosque Santiago entrance uphill to Casa Patagua with a member of Club Chileno. The sunlight streamed through the leaves of the eucalyptus trees and we could hear hummingbirds whistling. The forest was beautiful, and excitement began to match my nerves in intensity as I imagined spending my winter in such a peaceful, lovely place. When I arrived at Casa Patagua sweaty and shaky, everyone was very friendly and kind, giving me time to stutter through my Spanish until I conveyed what I wanted to say. Then Professor Pablo Diaz Moreno asked me what personal project I wanted to work on, and I had to quickly come up with an idea: "I want to plan a geology workshop for kids."

Professor Moreno encouraged the idea, especially since there were less resources about the geology of Bosque Santiago than the flora and fauna. I was still a little confused, but I was excited to learn more about environmental education. When I started my internship in earnest, I found myself left alone to work on my project individually. I thought that they would have tasks for me to do, but instead my project was almost entirely self-directed. I would absolutely recommend the Bosque Santiago internship to anyone, but I would suggest that students who request Bosque Santiago are highly self-motivated and come in with an idea of a project they want to do related to environmental education.

So what exactly is Bosque Santiago? It's an environmental education center that teaches people about nature in nature. It is a part of Parque Metropolitano, the "green lung" of Santiago. The educators at Bosque Santiago lead programs, hikes, forest-bathing experiences, and one-time workshops for all ages, and there are many sectors of the park, including many fun stations for children. As an intern, I am able to accompany workshops for families, senior adults, college students, experienced hikers, first-graders, and more. Generally it is less busy during the winter, but during students' winter break, Bosque Santiago was full of families exploring and utilizing the center's educational resources. Everyone who came to Bosque Santiago seemed to be happy, engaged, and interested in learning about Chilean and exotic flora and fauna. It was wonderful to see the different interactions between educators and visitors. One of my favorite anecdotes happened in mid-July, when a class of first-graders came for an educational workshop. The class had several neurodivergent students, and two of them supposedly never spoke in the classroom, which is what their teacher reported to Professor Moreno. However, none of the educators or interns who helped with the workshop knew this until Professor Moreno told us afterwards, because every single one of the students spoke and participated happily throughout the day. As part of my personal project, I have been learning about the benefits of teaching students about nature in nature, however it was wonderful to actually see the positive impacts in real time.

Overall, I would recommend this internship to anyone who is looking to teach in the future, or anyone who is passionate about the environment. The work environment is friendly and caring, and the people are very kind. It is so inspiring to be surrounded by highly intelligent educators, and to learn how to recognize the bright pink berries of the peumo, the yellow flowers of the espino, and the star-shaped seeds of the quillay (trees native to the central zone of Chile). Just like every internship, you get what you put into it, but at Bosque Santiago, you could get beautiful hikes, knowledge of native flora and fauna, experience in outdoor education, and friendship out of it.