Meet Zoe, Our Conservation Technician Intern

Hi! I’m Zoe Freeman, the 2026 Summer Conservation Technician Intern with Catawba Lands Conservancy. As the child of a landowner with property under conservation easement with Catawba Lands, I was very interested in working with the organization to learn more about the stewardship and conservation process. I’m especially grateful that my deep appreciation for Catawba Lands’ work gets to be tangible in what I contribute to the organization as an intern.

I got my Bachelors in Conservation Biology at Warren Wilson College in 2024 and have been working in local foods and wildlife rehab ever since! I currently work both as a Catawba Lands Conservancy intern and as an apprentice at Carolina Wildlife Conservation Center. At CWCC I help care for injured and orphaned wild animals such as raccoons, opossums, squirrels, skunks, turtles, bats, and foxes, helping them get back to their wild populations. At Catawba Lands Conservancy I help steward conserved lands through trail maintenance, monitoring, invasive treatment, and tracking inventory, ensuring that the land that wildlife may return to is healthy and protected. It has been a very holistic experience in which I have been able to get hands on with nature and make a difference.

My main project at Catawba Lands Conservancy is helping to organize and update information about one of the organization’s signature properties; Redlair Farm and Forest. This 700+ acre property has been managed expertly for over 20 years, ridding most of the land of invasive species and protecting two endemic species of great conservation concern. I spend most of my time hiking and monitoring borders at Redlair, updating photopoints, and digging into management history about the property to help inform future endeavors. I also have been cataloguing and updating species lists with flora and fauna I find along the way. Redlair is a truly magical place that I am so grateful to experience.

It is my intention to take all that I have learned during my internship and use it to help steward the property I live on. To spread my conservation knowledge to those who are interested in protecting the environment, and to help inspire people to want to learn more. Thank you to Catawba Lands Conservancy and Carolina Thread Trail for saving lands, and for offering me the opportunity to explore them.