2019 Richard M. Sargent Intern Award

The Land Conservancy of New Jersey recently announced that Chase Palmer has been named the 2019 recipient of the Richard M. Sargent, Jr. Internship award. The award is named in memory of former Land Conservancy Trustee Dick Sargent. The internship was established with a generous gift from the Sargent family, as well as donations to a memorial fund in Mr. Sargent’s memory. The Richard M. Sargent, Jr. Internship helps The Land Conservancy hire talented college students each year to help accomplish its mission of preserving open space lands and protecting water resources in northern New Jersey, benefiting both the students and The Land Conservancy.

Chase is currently a graduate student studying City and Regional Planning at Rutgers University.  His undergrad was at Penn State, and he studied Geography and Community Development, which was in the College of Agriculture. In his free time Chase likes to travel, hike, bike, cook, and read. During his internship, Chase has been working on Open Space and Recreation Plan (OSRP) and Environmental Resource Inventory (ERI) updates. His major projects have been working with Logan Township in Gloucester County in South Jersey, and Madison Borough in Morris County in North Jersey. Chase researches the towns using a mix of local, state, and federal data sources, and communicates with local officials.

On August 20, Chase had the opportunity to meet Richard Sargent’s daughter Louisa Sargent and spend some time with her. Richard M. Sargent, Jr. was a dedicated conservationist who served on The Land Conservancy’s Board of Trustees for more than a decade. Dick spent his entire career working for Chubb Corporation where his lifelong interest in education led to his hiring as president and CEO of the Chubb Institute, which later became Chubb Computer Services. His energetic devotion to the outdoors was embodied in his work for the Conservancy – utilizing his corporate background to support the organization’s land preservation efforts.