This academic year, the Duke Forest is welcoming three student employees whose backgrounds and interests span environmental education, land management, community engagement, and forestry operations. Together, Jacob Waugh, Elizabeth Keeley, and Eddie McDonald are contributing to the day-to-day work of the Forest while gaining hands-on experience that complements their studies at the Nicholas School of the Environment.
As the Duke Forest’s new Education and Outreach Assistant, Jacob Waugh is helping expand the ways people connect with the Forest. Jacob is a first-year Master of Environmental Management student concentrating in Community Engagement, Environmental Justice, and Energy. Originally from Bloomington, Indiana, he recently graduated from Indiana University with a degree in Environmental Management.
Jacob brings experience in environmental education, outdoor recreation, and youth-serving organizations, including work as an environmental educator and summer camp coordinator. Those experiences sparked his interest in helping people build meaningful connections with land, wildlife, and natural resources. At the Duke Forest, he is excited to broaden that work beyond youth audiences and engage with community partners representing a wide range of backgrounds, ages, and experiences with natural spaces.
For Jacob, the Duke Forest also offers an opportunity to put his classroom learning into practice. Its combination of teaching, research, stewardship, and community engagement provides a setting where he can explore how environmental education can connect people with the places around them. When he is not working or studying, Jacob can often be found paddling Durham’s waterways, watching the Cleveland Guardians, or relaxing in a hammock with a book.
Elizabeth Keeley, the Forest’s 2026–27 Green Devils intern, brings a different set of skills to the team. A second-year student pursuing both a Master of Forestry and Master of Environmental Management, Elizabeth came to the Nicholas School after working as a trail builder and outdoor educator in Maine and New Hampshire.
Her hands-on experience and technical training make her particularly well suited to the practical work of managing the Duke Forest. Elizabeth is certified to operate chainsaws and has experience with plant identification, forest measurement, GIS, and other technical tools. During her internship, she will support a broad range of Forest activities, including trail maintenance, timber management, invasive species monitoring, and habitat surveys.
Elizabeth hopes to combine her background in trail-focused stewardship with her graduate training to manage forestland for ecological, timber, and social value. Her work demonstrates the range of skills required to care for a working forest and maintain it as a place for research, education, stewardship, and recreation.
Rounding out the team is Eddie McDonald, a third-year MEM-MF student who has spent nearly his entire Duke career working with the Duke Forest. Eddie first joined the Forest in fall 2024 through a Nicholas School assistantship. He later worked as a Green Devil through the Office of Climate and Sustainability and is now finishing his time at Duke as a work-study student, supported by donated funds generously provided by Lirio Hittle, MF ’92.
Over the past two years, Eddie has developed a broad range of forestry skills while also gaining experience with the behind-the-scenes administrative work. His roles have given him a firsthand understanding of what it takes to manage and maintain the Duke Forest Teaching and Research Laboratory, from field-based forestry work to the less visible tasks that keep operations running.
That combination of experience has already helped Eddie take the next step toward his career. He used the forestry skills he developed at Duke to land a summer internship with Weyerhaeuser, and after finishing his studies here in North Carolina he hopes to move to the Pacific Northwest to launch his career in forestry.
Together, Jacob, Elizabeth, and Eddie represent the many ways student employees contribute to the Duke Forest. Their work supports education and outreach, stewardship and forest management, and the administrative operations that make the Forest’s teaching and research mission possible. Just as importantly, their time with the Forest gives them opportunities to apply what they are learning, develop professional skills, and prepare for careers in environmental fields.