2025 Conservation Interns Excited to Plant a Sustainable Future

We’re excited to introduce our 2025 conservation interns: Adline Dely ’26 (left)  and Dina Alam ’26 (right). Over the course of the year, Dely and Alam will focus on conservation horticulture in connection with our wide network of partners, exploring the role botanical gardens can play in building a sustainable future. The two will participate in a variety of projects and research, ranging from rare plant surveys to contributing to the work of building multi-institutional conservation collections.

Dely, a biology major who hopes to pursue a career in plant conservation and biodiversity, has worked extensively with the garden over the past couple of years, first as an AEMES student researcher from 2022-2024, then a Kew intern in 2024, and most recently as a Mckinley Honors Fellow. Dely is looking forward to continuing her journey with the garden as a conservation intern. “A lot of my previous work with the garden was done indoors, so I’m looking forward to field studies like seed collection, and I’m excited for the out-of-state field work to study Magnolia fraseri,” she said. Collaboration is at the heart of what most interests Dely about this type of work. “Science is all about collaborating,” she said. “I like that there is a mix of independent study in this internship as well as outdoor activity and team collaboration.”

Alam, who is studying environmental science and policy (ES&P), is new to working at the garden. She was drawn to the internship because of its connection to environmental protection. “A lot of what the conservation internship is about and what it’s developing to be is because of climate change,” said Alam. As an ES&P major, she’s excited to “look more at the environmental and conservation side that goes into botanic work and see how that is changing as climate change has more of a looming effect on the world.” Alam cited encouragement from faculty like Senior Laboratory Instructor Gaby Immerman, who teaches botany and horticulture, as a significant motivator in applying for the internship.

“With the changing climate, it's so important for us to not only focus on the people in society, but also plants and the other living things that are around us,” said Alam. “As important as people are to the world, plants are equally important.”

We are looking forward to all that Dely and Alam will both bring to this role as they take over for Sophia Zuccala ’26 and Emilia Neyer ’26.