Conservation Northwest protects and connects old-growth forests and other wild areas from the Washington Coast to the British Columbia Rockies, vital to a healthy future for us, our children, and wildlife. Since 1989, Conservation Northwest has worke
Issue link: http://conservationnw.uberflip.com/i/209895
inside NWEA Spotlight on Interns Darcey Goelz Kate Burton A senior at WWU's Huxley College of Environmental Studies, Kate is working with NWEA Conservation Associate, Barb Swanson, on our forest watch program. She works with US Forest Service officials to monitor projects on national forest lands, keeping our records up to date and writing and researching comments/ scoping letters for proposed projects in the Wenatchee and Okanogan National Forests. "I pursued this internship because of the opportunity for handson experience. I was very interested in a program out of West Texas, that would have paid me well, but I thought, 'How could I stay in Texas for three months?' Working for NWEA allows me to meet people who are passionate and informed about the Northwest." What are her impressions of the NWEA phenomenon? "I have been impressed with how many projects we respond to and the expansiveness of our study areas. At my first meeting with Barb, she told me that everything should be based on science, which thrilled me. Admittedly, I love my charismatic megaflora and megafauna, but I also love advocacy based on facts instead of propaganda."A Seattle native, Kate's a tidepool fan…and a dancer. "Outside of stimulating my mind with soil science and geomorphology, I have been a dancer for as long as I can remember, so I dance whenever I can. When I can't do that or practice yoga, I dream about my future travel destinations." Darcey Goelz came to NWEA to get an internship experience in grassroots organizing—and she's gotten that, for sure! This is not an internship for college credit; Darcy "decided that I wanted to know more about public organizing before I went too much further through school." Darcey has been working with outreach/volunteer coordinator, Hudson Dodd, and special events coordinator, Molly Harmon, to plan and execute NWEA's 15th Anniversary celebration. She first learned about NWEA from a lobbying class hrough Western Washington University's Huxley College, where she is a sophomore political science major. "We came to interview Lisa McShane and I found the organization's goals and activities to be something I would like to support…a few weeks later I was at work!" Darcey has been pleasantly surprised to learn how much people are willing to donate their time, energy, and money to an environmental nonprofit. "You always hear that the environmental movement is just a small, powerful group, but there are actually so many who care; they are amazing." In her spare time, Darcey enjoys horseback riding, snowboarding, showing and breeding golden retrievers, and spending time with her boyfriend, who's enrolled at WSU, and her family in southwestern Washington. "As beautiful as Bellingham is, there is nowhere in the world like the Long Beach Peninsula. With the Columbia River, Pacific Ocean, and Willapa Bay all at your doorstep, and not a Walmart in sight, there is nothing so beautiful and relaxing." It's that kind of bonding with a place that makes so many of us into conservationists. Sidonie DeCassis Sidonie DeCassis is another intrepid soul who sought out NWEA as a place to gain valuable experience as an intern, without a school requirement. She's a freshman at WWU, where she plans to pursue a double major in environmental studies and journalism. She chose NWEA because, "Since I was very young, I've always tried to find effective ways of balancing activism with policy." Sounds like a good fit for NWEA, which she first learned about from the admissions coordinator at WWU's Fairhaven College. "NWEA has an interesting dynamic," observes Sidonie (Sido for short). "It's a quiet, yet active office. The staff makes it easy to absorb lots of varied information. I feel like I'm perpetually gaining a better understanding and overall concept of grassroots networking." Sido grew up in the Midwest. "Chicago was my 'school year' home, and a little town in Wisconsin—Rice Lake—was my summer home. Leaving [Chicago] in January was rather depressing because it was a time when I felt I had a particularly strong community of friends. When I moved here I knew only one person on the entire West Coast. I like Chicago because it's a bustling cosmopolitan center. Bellingham provides me with that touch of wilderness that makes civilized society a bit more bearable." Again, sounds like a good fit for NWEA! To intern at NWEA or to volunteer, contact Hudson Dodd, volunteer and outreach coordinator, at hdodd@ecosystem.org or call 800.878.9950 x26. 26 Northwest Ecosystem Alliance www.ecosystem.org