Gig: Restoring the Canebrakes: Native Rivercane for Streambank Stabilization
UNC Charlotte Gig Training Program
Campus Internship
Closes on Wednesday, November 18, 2026
Job Description
Catawba Riverkeeper is an independent non-profit organization with the mission to preserve, protect, and restore the waters of the Catawba-Wateree River basin for all through education, advocacy, and engagement. Our vision is a river that can sustain plentiful, clean water for generations to come. Our 5,600 square mile river basin includes over 8,900 miles of waterways across 26 counties in North and South Carolina. We provide accurate, science-based information about our region’s water source and the issues affecting it.
The Project
Catawba Riverkeeper is working to add native rivercane plantings to our restoration program. Rivercane once formed extensive canebrakes along southeastern rivers and streams, but today it occupies only a small fraction of its historic range. Its dense stems and extensive rhizome networks slow runoff, hold soil in place, capture sediment, and protect streambanks, making it a strong native option for stream stabilization. Rivercane also carries deep cultural significance for Indigenous communities throughout the Southeast, and our organization is developing this work with partners including Catawba Lands Conservancy and the Catawba Nation.
This project focuses on two native cane species, giant cane (Arundinaria gigantea) and switch cane (Arundinaria tecta). The intern will carry a small-scale restoration from start to finish in four parts: (1) a literature review of rivercane restoration techniques and potential partners; (2) locating a donor populations of giant and switch cane and a suitable restoration site using online databases, calls with partners, and site visits; (3) harvesting rhizomes from the donor site and propagating them at the Catawba Riverkeeper Boathouse; and (4) planting the sprouted rhizomes at the selected restoration site. The intern will be provided guidance and resources from Riverkeeper Brandon Jones.
Learning Experience
The student will not only get hands-on experience with a current environmental conservation initiative in the region where they attend school, but also insight into how a small independent non-profit functions in the environmental conservation industry with a footprint of 26 counties spanning two states in North and South Carolina. Students will gain practical experience in every stage of a native plant restoration: synthesizing published research, using online plant occurrence databases to locate source populations, evaluating sites in the field, and harvesting, propagating, and planting rhizomes. Students will also work with a range of stakeholders, which may include landowners, land trusts, tribal partners, university researchers, and state agencies.
Outcomes
Students will produce a literature review summarizing rivercane restoration techniques and potential partners, a mapped inventory of giant and switch cane donor populations, and a recommended restoration site selected with staff. They will then harvest rhizomes from one donor site, establish them in propagation at the Riverkeeper Boathouse in McAdenville, and plant the sprouted rhizomes at the restoration site.
UNC Charlotte Gig Training Program