She set out to find answers about a habitat — what she found were answers about herself

“My environmental and GIS classes have helped me narrow my path, and this experience of being in such a rural area has made me realize that I want to learn more about this kind of habitat and wildlife."

For environmental science and geographic information systems double major Averie Stunz ‘28, that absence was a mystery she spent the summer trying to solve: was the land sustainable for the survival of swift foxes? As part of her internship with The Nature Conservancy, Stunz and fellow University of Redlands student Lindsey Whelan ‘27 set up trail cameras along fence lines and easements, observed protected plants, and removed invasive ones to find out why the foxes weren’t appearing on the property.

“These little foxes only prefer about 5% cover of sagebrush,” Stunz said. This detail should have made the ranch a natural fit for the animal, and the kind that made its absence harder to explain. Finding this answer meant Stunz had to be at the ranch in the first place, altering her typical summer schedule — and something that almost didn’t happen.

An unexpected decision

This past spring, Stunz found two internship opportunities — one with the Eastern Sierra Land Trust, the other with The Nature Conservancy. The latter is managed by the Environmental Studies Department exclusively for University of Redlands students and was endowed by Bill Piety in partnership with The Nature Conservancy many years ago. It moved much more quickly and came with a caveat: a full-time, three-month commitment during a period Stunz would typically spend training as a soccer and flag football athlete. The decision wasn’t initially clear until Environmental Science professor Hillary Jenkins stepped in.  

“I first got to know Averie when she enrolled in my Geology class, and it quickly became apparent that she is much more than a diligent student,” Jenkins said. “Averie is genuinely curious about the world around her — I saw this internship as an opportunity for her to take that curiosity beyond the classroom and put it into practice.”

Spending three days hiking and camping in Anza-Borrego State Park as part of a department field trip, Jenkins used this time as an opportunity to get to know Stunz’s ambitions outside of the classroom.  

“I could see how much she wanted to give this internship a try despite it being a bit scary and challenging to balance against her athletic obligations,” Jenkins said. “I wanted her to recognize that her busy schedule shouldn't automatically become a reason to say no to an opportunity that so closely aligned with her interests.”

Stunz said yes, and by June, was on the 14,000-acre ranch, 45 minutes from the nearest town, chasing answers. 

Knowledge that goes beyond the classroom

Much of Stunz's work on the ranch, part of her Core 4 experience at Redlands, included infrastructure mapping — crossing terrain in an ATV with a field map in hand, and inputting data into ArcGIS Pro — a skill learned in a Redlands classroom, that now made its way into the wild.

“I didn’t know about GIS until I got to Redlands, and that was huge,” Stunz said. “I’ve always loved maps, so getting to use ArcGIS online has been a great experience.”

The same training shaped how she approached the looming question of the fox.

“The biggest lesson was looking at the overall picture of a habitat and its suitability,” Stunz said. “What makes a land suitable for these different species?”

Viewing it through that wider lens guided her analysis of the land’s elevation, slope, vegetation, and cropland.

“We found that, due to the vast road network around the ranch, the habitat was fragmented, and when there are sightings of the foxes, they are unfortunately dead on the side of the road,” Stunz said. “We wanted to see why that was happening and looked at the land’s topography, including elevation, slope, and other aspects, including cropland and agricultural.”

The cameras never captured a fox, but the analysis pointed to why. For Stunz, the internship revealed something about herself.

“My environmental and GIS classes have helped me narrow my path, and this experience of being in such a rural area has made me realize that I want to learn more about this kind of habitat and wildlife,” Stunz said.

For GIS Assistant Professor Will Wagner, that kind of clarity is what fieldwork is meant to produce.

“Fieldwork is where the rubber meets the road,” Wagner said. “It allows students to take the concepts learned in the classroom and apply them as tangible contributions to the community. It gives them a sense of agency and ownership of the work.”

Stunz also learned how Colorado Fish and Wildlife traps certain foxes and relocates them to new areas to repopulate those areas.

“I love the aspect of being able to go out, help animals, and conserve where they live,” Stunz said.

She recommends the Core 4 experience to others.

“Living in a place that rural is definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience for some people, and I think everyone should experience it,” Stunz said. “You learn so much about yourself, about the land around you, and where you want to be when you’re older.”

Discover environmental studies and geographic information systems at Redlands.