From February 20 to March 31, 2017, Mr. NTIHARIRIZWA Jean Berchmans, a student at the University of Burundi, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Biology in 3rd Baccalaureate, completed a training course at the Burundian Office for Environmental Protection (OBPE) under the supervision of Dr. MASHARABU Tatien, professor at the University of Burundi and Msc. NZIGIDAHERA Benoît from OBPE.

This internship is part of the internships organized each year by the University of Burundi in collaboration with various institutions, both state and private, in favor of finalist students. This course concerned the ruderal nitrophilic herbaceous plants of the Bujumbura City Hall.

After making contact with the internship supervisors during which the objectives of the internship were defined and the working techniques put in place, the internship work began with the choice of harvesting sites, which are the OBPE garden and the space located near the market commonly called Kukabasazi in the North Mutanga district.

Then, the student delineated the work sites by measuring their area and subdividing them into small 1.5m wide strata using a decameter and a rope. This activity was followed by sampling the species present on the site. The harvested species were placed in folders after noting the name of the site, the date and the cover on site by projecting vertically. During conservation, the student ensured that the floral pieces were not damaged. All harvested species were photographed for each site and by harvest.

The student then dried the specimens placed under a press. After drying, the intern began to identify the samples in families, genera and species using the books by Troupin (Volume I, II, III & IV), Thomas Le Bourgeois and Henri MERLIER, 1995; H. MERLIER and J. MERLIER, 1995; H. MERLIER and J. MONTEGUT, 1982; H. MERLIER and J. MONTEGUT, 1982 as well as information found on the internet.