For first-year college students, the semester usually begins with ice breakers and introductory questions such as How was your summer? What did you do? After spending the summer interning with UVM Extension Northwest Crops and Soils Program (NWCS), Addison Gates may have some of the most interesting stories to tell.
Originally from Franklin, VT, Addison graduated from Missisquoi Valley Union High School in June and will begin her first semester at North Carolina State University as a member of the class of 2030 in August. Addison’s internship was focused on precision agriculture technology, specifically NWCS’ research on autonomous weeding robots.
The NWCS program purchased six BOTONY™ robots from Greenfield Robotics to pilot test the technology on farms in northern Vermont. The robots aim to help combat weeds and reduce chemical inputs and herbicides in fields. The robots are equipped with mowing decks that allow them to cut weeds between 30-inch crop rows.
Could these robots be a worthwhile investment for Vermont farmers? Do they work well in Vermont’s diverse landscapes and soil types? These are the questions the NWCS program seeks to answer.
NWCS Agronomy Specialist Jeff Sanders and Precision Ag Specialist Daniel Bliss are leading the research project. Addison worked closely with them throughout her internship to learn about the robots and capture data in the field that will help NWCS and Vermont farmers understand more about the technology.
Addison plans to study civil and environmental engineering in college, but she sought hands-on experience beforehand to inform her decisions about her major and career.
“I wanted to intern with extension because I thought it would help me see if research was something I would be interested in doing as a career,” Addison said. “I know there's a lot of research opportunities for engineering out there.”
Assisting with cutting-edge agricultural engineering research and autonomous weeding robot technology in the field gave Addison the opportunity to explore her interests in research and engineering firsthand.
When asked what her expectations were coming into the experience, she said, “I was just hoping to get some experience in research and see all the moving parts. I wanted to learn about how they go about getting all the grants and doing all these research projects. It's been cool to learn about.”
And there were many moving parts—literally! Addison helped assess broken parts, install replacement parts, and clean all of the robots’ parts to keep them working properly. “Learning how to fix [the robots] was a challenge because I definitely didn't have much knowledge of any of that.” Addison explained that the internship helped her gain hands-on skills, noting that she has a newfound confidence for troubleshooting and fixing things.
Throughout the summer, Jeff, Daniel, and Addison would often spend 10 to 12 hours in the field daily, trialing the robots and assessing their effectiveness. Addison said that some of the most memorable moments were when things didn’t go exactly according to plan.
“I will definitely remember times when the tracks would fall off the robots in the field. That happened quite a bit,” she said. “There were probably a couple times where all three of us had to go out and try to get it back on. It was pretty difficult, and we'd all be offering different ideas, and none of them seemed to work.” Getting creative to solve problems in the field could be the motto of extension! Addison got to experience that problem-solving spirit firsthand throughout the summer, learning that research isn’t always running statistics in a lab. Sometimes it’s wrestling robots in a soybean field.
One of Addison’s main takeaways is that she would like to further explore research in her academic and professional career. “It's not too bad,” she discovered “Now I know I can do that.”
When asked what she would tell another high school student about interning with UVM Extension, she said, “They definitely should. I think it's a good learning experience. It's kind of a new type of learning, at least coming out of high school. I learned things here that you don't necessarily experience through high school class or high school experiences.”
Addison summed up her internship with one simple sentence: “Just a really great experience that allowed for hands-on learning.” To her internship supervisors Jeff and Daniel, she said, “Thanks for teaching me a lot and allowing me to have this experience.”
The NWCS program team is very happy that we got to work with Addison and help her gain knowledge and experience that will serve her future. We can’t wait to see what she does next! Good luck, Addison!
Are you interested in interning with extension during the summer, or do you know someone who is? Check out available opportunities on our website at uvm.edu/cals/internships or contact CALS Student Services at calsstudentservice@uvm.edu.