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Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Sustainable Farm Education Intern, Sean Anderson
Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Sustainable Farm Education Intern, Sean Anderson
College of the Environment Internship Reports
Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group (HCSEG) is a nonprofit organization that seeks to ensure the healthy recovery of salmon in the Hood Canal watershed, and through restoration, education, and research they aim to achieve this goal. Based at the Salmon Center in Belfair, I interned on the farm there aptly named Farm at Water’s Edge. They’re a certified organic farm meaning they don’t use any herbicides, pesticides, or chemical fertilizer where runoff can be avoided to not affect the salmon, it’s a fantastic demonstration of sustainable farming practices.
Nw Straits Foundation Rain Garden Intern, Margeaux Bailey
Nw Straits Foundation Rain Garden Intern, Margeaux Bailey
College of the Environment Internship Reports
The goal of the project was to not only create a green space within the bus loop where children are dropped off and picked up but to build a storm water filtration system to improve storm water quality before it enters streams and it’s final destination, the Salish Sea.This rain garden also provides continuous learning opportunities for the students at Mt. Erie Elementary School to gain knowledge about stormwater management practices and the opportunity to be environmental stewards. The Mt. Erie rain garden contains a variety of 130 plants including native species and benefits the Salish Sea through filtering up …
Compost Manufacturing Alliance Data Eval And Testing Intern, Emma Anderson
Compost Manufacturing Alliance Data Eval And Testing Intern, Emma Anderson
College of the Environment Internship Reports
My role at CMA was multifaceted. One half of my work consisted of fieldwork, and the other half was working on recertifications and learning the operations of the company. Towards the end, my boss and I attempted to solve, or help solve, an issue about on-campus composting that was brought to my attention but had limited luck with contacting the composter and the managers of Aramark who source food ware materials.
Mt Baker Snow School Intern, Katrina Doerflinger
Mt Baker Snow School Intern, Katrina Doerflinger
College of the Environment Internship Reports
This February and March I volunteered as an environmental educator with the program. I brought students up on the mountain to different outdoor lessons hosted by the Snow School’s partners. I also had the opportunity to teach my own workshop on snow crystal formation in the atmosphere. This program is part of a 3-year-long education initiative called Snow to Sea to teach middle school students about our local watershed. We are their first exposure to this initiative at the very top of the watershed: Mt. Baker. It's so rewarding to see students, many of which have never been to Mt. …
Skagit County Public Works Intern, Cynthia Elston
Skagit County Public Works Intern, Cynthia Elston
College of the Environment Internship Reports
During my internship with Skagit County, I had the opportunity to participate in various programs contributing to the organization's mission of protecting and enhancing the natural resources in the county. The following paragraphs provide an overview of my involvement and contributions in each program.
Wwu Research Assistant Intern, Itzel Perez
Wwu Research Assistant Intern, Itzel Perez
College of the Environment Internship Reports
My 2-credit research project focused on the degradation of polymers, such as Low-Density Polyethylene and Polycarbonate, within the human digestive system. Throughout my project I had been working with my advisor, Dr. Montaño, as well as my research partner, Ashlynn Lee, to develop an in-depth understanding of polymers. I first began doing research on polymers of interests and narrowed down to two specific plastics- Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) and PC (Polycarbonate).
Wwu Iws Internship, Owen Sinderman
Wwu Iws Internship, Owen Sinderman
College of the Environment Internship Reports
The IWS performs several roles, both within the university and with external government and non-government organizations. Among these are assistance with student projects, program development, sponsorship of watershed-related seminars, and provision of equipment and knowledge for water quality monitoring and research. One of the main projects of the IWS is the Lake Whatcom monitoring program, a large-scale watershed study that has been collecting data since 1988. During my time with the Institute, I assisted primarily in this project, specifically with the tributary stormwater and lake water quality aspects. I additionally got a chance to help with the start of a …
Nsea - Gis Intern, Maximillian Yost
Nsea - Gis Intern, Maximillian Yost
College of the Environment Internship Reports
Most of my work included updating, editing, and creating GIS feature layers and maps used by the NSEA restoration crews, and creating maps and story maps that could be viewed and easily digested by the public. With my role, I got to work on projects with both the educational and the field side of NSEA.
Miles Berkey Bryophyte Research, Hattie Bakke
Miles Berkey Bryophyte Research, Hattie Bakke
College of the Environment Internship Reports
assisted in mapping bryophyte flora in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Park, along LGM (last glacial maximum) spatial boundaries determined by GIS (see
Figure 1). The aim of this research has been to determine the likelihood of an ice age refugium in Barlow Pass, by comparing the proportion of disjunct species to the known ice age refugium, Brooks Peninsula (Figure 2), and the known non-refugial area Cascade Pass (Figure 3). Bryophytes are a group of non-vascular plants, divided into mosses, liverworts, and hornworts. They are amongst the oldest extant lineage of terrestrial plants.
Taylor Shellfish Farms + Sakari Farms, Rosalie Potvin
Taylor Shellfish Farms + Sakari Farms, Rosalie Potvin
College of the Environment Internship Reports
I would work up to 6 days a week during the low tide to harvest, plant, and transplant clams and oysters. My time at Taylor Shellfish Farms introduced me to a sustainable form aquaculture as I split my time between Clam and Oyster Crews.
Washington Conservation Corps Intern, Suzanne Krasle
Washington Conservation Corps Intern, Suzanne Krasle
College of the Environment Internship Reports
WCC is an AmeriCorps program under the Department of Ecology for Washington State. Opportunities for service through WCC include working on a trail, spike, or restoration crew, or as an individual placement. I worked on a restoration crew. Restoration crews focus on native planting, invasive species removal and mitigation, and implementation of erosion control techniques. My crew consisted of six WCC crew members including me and our supervisor, and we worked alongside our sponsor the Skagit River System Coop (SRSC).
Washington Conservaton Corps Intern, Suzanne Krasle
Washington Conservaton Corps Intern, Suzanne Krasle
College of the Environment Internship Reports
Restoration crews focus on native planting, invasive species removal and mitigation, and implementation of erosion control techniques. My crew consisted of six WCC crew members including me and our supervisor, and we worked alongside our sponsor the Skagit River System Coop (SRSC). Since January, we completed planting projects along with some brush-cutting of Himalayan blackberry. In addition to working on the restoration projects, my role within WCC was to document our crew’s daily work including site conditions and the number of trees planted.
Nsea Community Program Intern, Paige Aagaard
Nsea Community Program Intern, Paige Aagaard
College of the Environment Internship Reports
was a Community Program Intern with the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association’s (NSEA) Future Leaders of Whatcom County (FLOW) program for spring 2023. NSEA is a local, community-based organization within Whatcom County. It is a 501 c(3) organization meaning that NSEA is a charitable, nonprofit for the benefit of the community (IRS, 2023). Main funding comes from various grants. NSEA’s major focus is on habitat restoration to help declining salmon populations:
Wwu Herring Stock Research Intern, Alexandra Haase
Wwu Herring Stock Research Intern, Alexandra Haase
College of the Environment Internship Reports
This internships main goal was to follow up the work of former graduate student Heidi Stewart, and explore the predation activities of large predators in Herring spawning habitats. Last year, Dr. Sobocinski and Heidi placed metal nets in different Bays around the Salihs Sea. This was to isolate herring spawn, in order to see the impact of predators on herring spawn. During this time, I was brought onto their research team as a field assistant and video processer. Heidi trained me in her procedures and gave me my first taste of environmental field work.
Wwu Sustainability Engagement Institute Data Ambassador, Ashley Olson
Wwu Sustainability Engagement Institute Data Ambassador, Ashley Olson
College of the Environment Internship Reports
My internship almost entirely surrounded the project of working towards completion and submission of the WWU Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) Sustainability, Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System (STARS) report to receive a score assessing where our institution is both independently and comparatively in our progress towards an optimally sustainable campus. The role of my position as the data ambassador was to gather data from numerous departments and individuals throughout our campus network and craft technical writing within the majority of sections to further explain our campus operations and the data I compiled. The objective for …
Washington Conservation Corps Intern, Maczenzie Kelm
Washington Conservation Corps Intern, Maczenzie Kelm
College of the Environment Internship Reports
My work with the Washington Conservation Corp (WCC) was with a restoration crew sponsored by the Skagit River Systems Co-op. The organization does work in the Skagit river basin to restore salmon habitat. The focus of this work is on riparian areas, in the summer season which I had worked we primarily maintained sites where plantings had been done previously. This was done through brush cutting survival rings around young plants, as well as removing invasive species such as Himalayan blackberry and morning glory either through herbicide use or brush cutting. Hours worked with WCC were ten hours four days …
Salish Scientists Summer Camp Internship, Jayden Lehner
Salish Scientists Summer Camp Internship, Jayden Lehner
College of the Environment Internship Reports
The non-profit is one of the fourteen Regional Fisheries Enhancement Groups (RFEGs) in Washington State. They work to foster a community that cares about bringing awareness to salmon and giving everyone opportunities to contribute to the success of salmon. Salmon are an essential part of the Pacific Northwest, for people and the environment. During the summer, they run a Salish Scientists Summer camp held at the Willow Creek Salmon and Watershed Education Center in Edmonds, Washington. The center is a hatchery that they raise salmon fry to release into Willow Creek. The wetland on site is incorporated into many of …
City Of Auburn Parks Dept Intern, Audrey Patton
City Of Auburn Parks Dept Intern, Audrey Patton
College of the Environment Internship Reports
My roles include weeding, removing invasive plants such as English Ivy (pictured below), hedging shrubs, pruning trees, watering flowers, designing garden beds, and planting annuals and perennials. Over the last 7 weeks, I have greatly increased my knowledge of natural systems in cities, specifically parks and gardens.
Skagit Land Trust Steward Internship, Ian Anderson
Skagit Land Trust Steward Internship, Ian Anderson
College of the Environment Internship Reports
The core task of this internship was to participate in volunteer work parties. One of the ways that Skagit Land Trust works to conserve the plots of land they manage is with volunteer work parties, where volunteers sign up to come out and work on improving some aspects of the Trust’s properties. My role in this was to assist the stewardship coordinators in setting up the work parties and participating in the work parties themselves. This mostly consisted of landscaping work such as weed whacking, trail clearing, invasive species removal, data collection, and tree planting.
Friends Of Acadia Intern, Jacob Haertel
Friends Of Acadia Intern, Jacob Haertel
College of the Environment Internship Reports
Completing numerous different projects and living in a national
park allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of how different environmental non-profits
operate, as well as the National Park Service. Not only did I have administrative duties that
involved researching other organizations, organizing and archiving project files, and researching
former state bills, but I got to experience different field trips to other non-profits who work in the
area around Acadia, attend many different organizational meetings, and go to different sorts of
events. All of this while being within walking distance of the park itself allowed my
understanding of the conservation …
Septic Designer In Training, Gabriel Mcguire
Septic Designer In Training, Gabriel Mcguire
College of the Environment Internship Reports
The objectives of this role consisted of two main components: fieldwork, and
design work. The fieldwork included collecting data to design a septic system or evaluate the site given the parameters of the project. Soil quality, critical areas, setbacks from existing utilities, and available space were all important parameters to consider.
City Of Bellingham Parks Volunteer Program Internship, Jordan Ng
City Of Bellingham Parks Volunteer Program Internship, Jordan Ng
College of the Environment Internship Reports
The Parks Volunteer Program (PVP) operates within Parks and Recreation and is a public-facing municipal program that engages community members in environmental restoration and education. Throughout the year, regularly scheduled work parties are held, many of which are in partnership with other local environmental groups. Frequent community partners include the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association (NSEA), Whatcom Million Trees Project (WMTP), and LEAD, an environmental restoration program
Wwu_Geology_Cetaceon_Queen_Charlotte_Fault, Cameron Dillman
Wwu_Geology_Cetaceon_Queen_Charlotte_Fault, Cameron Dillman
College of the Environment Internship Reports
The Transform Obliquity on the Queen Charlotte fault and Earthquake Study (TOQUES) cruise occurred from July 18 – Aug 23 of 2021 in the N. Pacific Ocean. During this time, TOQUES was using ocean-bottom seismometers (OBS) and acoustic arrays to map the sub-surficial geological features of the Queen Charlotte Fault (QCF). Expendable bathymetry (XBT) was deployed to measure the temperature of the water column in order to determine the speed of sound of the water column.
Lead Program Intern, Eva Araujo
Lead Program Intern, Eva Araujo
College of the Environment Internship Reports
When I interviewed, Ava and Brandon introduced me to the Miyawaki Method. Their idea was to finish the invasive species removal of a severely overgrown site to the north of campus, and to replant it with an afforestation method which hasn’t yet been used in many places in the United States. It was developed by a Japanese botanist, Dr. Akira Miyawaki. The Miyawaki Method seeks to build a mini-forest, representative of what climatic forests of the natural environment would be like. To start, you build a list of the species which are typically found in an undisturbed forest. Then, you …
Deception Pass State Park Intern, Sarah Parker
Deception Pass State Park Intern, Sarah Parker
College of the Environment Internship Reports
The Rosario Beach tidepools, which my internship centered around, get tens of thousands of visitors every summer. The main purpose of my position at Rosario Beach this summer was to connect visitors’ experiences to the natural resource that the tidepools are and use environmental education as a means to protect it.
Dfsw Fish Sampling Internship, Dylan Adams
Dfsw Fish Sampling Internship, Dylan Adams
College of the Environment Internship Reports
I was part of the Puget Sound Sampling Unit (PSSU) and aimed to enhance my knowledge of state biological data collection techniques and scientific data organization. The job responsibilities included interviewing recreational anglers, collecting data on salmon, marine fish, and shellfish catches, and obtaining specific biological data to support fisheries sampling goals.
Wwu Environmental Health And Safety Intern, Kevin Nolasco
Wwu Environmental Health And Safety Intern, Kevin Nolasco
College of the Environment Internship Reports
The main task as the lab assistant was to collect and characterize any hazardous wastes that were produced by academic, research or other department laboratories. This consisted of seventy percent of my time because the process is time consuming, and this task was to be prioritized as the hazardous wastes were not to be kept in Satellite Accumulation Areas (SAA) more than three days.
Whatcom Land Trust, De Oliveria Adriano
Whatcom Land Trust, De Oliveria Adriano
College of the Environment Internship Reports
This spring I worked with a local non-profit, the Whatcom Land Trust, as a GIS/GPS specialist in their stewardship department. Whatcom Land Trust aims to buy land for the main purpose of conservation. They also buy up conservation land easements, which are the rights to land development. This allows WLT to restrict any further development of land in the future, even if the landowner sells their property. As a nonprofit, they are heavily restricted by their available funding, and are forced to utilize mostly donations and State Grant funding. Even so, they own around 6,500 acres of property and are …
Nsea Intern, Mckenna Varela
Nsea Intern, Mckenna Varela
College of the Environment Internship Reports
The main focus of my position throughout this internship was to engage with the community members who volunteer on Saturdays from 9am - 12pm. Usually, there were only a handful of volunteers, maybe between 30 - 40; they would all have questions about the work we do, the importance of the riparian buffer along streams, and how each intern found their way to NSEA.
Senior Project - Sehome Arboretum Soils, Johnathan Billecci
Senior Project - Sehome Arboretum Soils, Johnathan Billecci
College of the Environment Internship Reports
In some areas of the Arboretum, the canopy has been transitioning from coniferous Douglas fir (Psuedotsuga menziesii) to deciduous big leaf maple (Acer macrophyllum). Dieback of mature Douglas fir trees may be due to the slow-growing root rot fungus, Coniferiporia weirii, or the story may be more complicated. Other soil characteristics like nutrient availability and soil biota communities may influence the susceptibility of mature Douglas fir to C. weirii. To better understand why this transition is happening, Rebecca Bunn is putting together a research class which will evaluate whether other soil characteristics may be contributing to the dieback of Douglas …