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Noelle Mesbah ’22 grew up in central New Jersey near Newark but one of her favorite places was Vermont, where she and family members skied during the winter. When she began her college search, �պ����� was top of mind—besides the familiar idyllic outdoor landscape, �պ����� had a strong environmental studies program.

“I wanted to major in ES and when I got to �պ����� the concentration in eco-design really interested me. There is a lot of hands-on learning in those classes. II took a geology class early on and learned about GIS which I also really loved. So I ended up minoring in geospacial technologies.”

Mesbah’s interest in the environment and the outdoors led her to a post-graduate summer internship with the , a 4800-acre property in Hartford, Vt., with a working farm along with secluded woods, mountains and lakes. Both the curriculum and the community are rooted in Quaker traditions of equity, ecological sustainability and non-violence. A working farm provides campers with lessons in animal care and food systems; the wilderness areas provide venues for outdoor education and recreation.

Making Vermont home

After the summer, Mesbah stayed on at the Farm and Wilderness camp, working on off-season projects like providing content for the organization’s social media feeds.

Mesbah represents a demographic that is key to long-term growth of the state’s economy which is dependent on young workers. She is one of over 1000 �պ����� graduates who stay to live and work in Vermont after collecting their diplomas. Like Mesbah, more than half of those graduates come from out of state.

“By providing an educational opportunity that opens the door to a career and potential lifetime residency here, the university serves as a gateway to growth that is critical to Vermont’s future,” wrote state Rep. Carol Ode, D-Burlington, who represents the state as a legislative trustee on �պ����� Board of Trustees in a .

Tracking invasive plants

Mesbah found herself applying the knowledge and skills she accumulated at �պ����� to her work at Farm and Wilderness, particularly related to managing non-native species.

“The first month was doing a lot of assessment and trying to wrap my head around the scale and types of invasive species in such a big area,” she said. “I did a lot of learning and research about invasive species, later creating educational materials for camp. We did some GIS work as well, mapping out invasives on the property.”

Japanese knotweed, garlic mustard and multiflora rose were among prevalent plant species Mesbah and her students encountered. Japanese knotweed grows very quickly in dense, bamboo-like stands.

“It’s really good at growing snuffing out other species and changes the composition of the soil,” Mesbah says. The roots of the plant are very tough and dense—the best way to remove the plant is to uproot it completely, but that’s easier said than done. Even a small fragment of the rhizome left behind will quickly generate a new shoot.

“We did a few experiments to see what works best—we had to keep monitoring to see what the mitigation effects were,” she said. They also investigated the possibility of eating the invasives. “We made a humus using garlic mustard—it was pretty delicious.”

Mesbah is looking forward to coming back to the Farm and Wilderness Camp this summer and is open to settling in Vermont long-term if the opportunity arises.

“Vermont has always been an incredibly special place to me, and the professionals I have met through my experiences at �պ����� and Farm and Wilderness have shown me how wide the options are in environmental work.”