This summer I will be spending my time at SEA LIFE Trust Beluga Whale Sanctuary on Heimaey Island within the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago in the south of Iceland. This sanctuary is the world’s first for currently captive cetaceans (whales, dolphins, porpoises) to retire and live the remainder of their days with dignity in a natural setting. Through a partnership with Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC), Merlin Entertainment and SEA LIFE Trust are leading the way to create innovative sanctuaries such as this to end captivity and I am so excited to be a part of this journey and to take you along with me!
For my summer placement project I will be stationed on an island in Thailand. As part of the Phang Nga province, Koh Yao Yai (shortened to KYY) is located in the southern region of Thailand and only accessible through ferry. I was granted this opportunity through the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), specifically the Asia Regional Office (ARO) branch.
I was in Des Moines this past week, on two warm green days where we sat in the Raccoon River Lodge and talked about the Protect Land and Water pillar of the Shared Conservation Agenda. During lunch, we wandered out onto the grass, watching the darning-needle shapes of herons fly over the water. Redwing blackbirds chirred from the tall grass that hemmed the silver edge of the water. It was a beautiful place to have a conference, but the water that came out of the hotel taps was flat and tasted faintly of pond.
Introduction, Location and Organization – Viola and Wisconsin Emergency Management
My placement this summer will provide support to rural communities in West Central, Wisconsin. The majority of my work involves long-term flood mitigation planning for the community of Viola, Wisconsin. This work will be performed on behalf of the Wisconsin Emergency Management (WEM) Division of the Department of Military Affairs (DMA), based in Madison, Wisconsin. The community served is made up of just under 700 people, in an area often described as the Kickapoo River Valley. The Kickapoo River, directly adjacent to Viola, has flooded the Village on multiple occasions, with increasing regularity and severity over the past decade.
Audubon International- My Summer Host Organization
Hi everyone! I am excited to share my final project with you
all as I stride through the last stretch of UW Madison’s Environmental
Conservation Master’s Program. This summer, I will be working with Audubon
International’s Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf, one of Audubon
International’s many environmental and sustainability programs designed for areas
in which we live, work, and play. As I enjoy golf, myself, and will soon be
working as a conservation professional, my intentions are to further my
knowledge in strategies used to change the perception of the game of golf by giving
a second meaning to the term “green” when
referring to a golf course.
As some of you know, I am currently in Madison doing my summer leadership placement in the Evaluation Unit of the Natural Resources Institute (NRI). The Natural Resources Institute is part of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension. Its mission is “to help individuals, communities, and the state coexist with Wisconsin’s rich water, mineral land, and forestry resources”. They conduct environmental research, education, stewardship and outreach through a series of programs (highlighted in the picture below) that embody the Wisconsin Idea: “harnessing the leading-edge thinking and research of the university and facilitating change through an extensive network of local, state and regional partnerships”.
My leadership placement is at Clean Lakes Alliance (CLA) in
Madison, Wisconsin. When I first started the Environmental Conservation Program
last June, I knew that I wanted to be able to stay around Madison for my project
placement. Since I plan on staying around Madison for my career, I thought it
was a smart choice to stick around and try to make local connections. During my
10-weeks at CLA, I am in charge of designing a prototype map with a basic
design, features, and a list of expenses that will inform and educate visitors about
Warner Beach. Specifically what urban pollution is and how we can work together
to try to keep our lakes clean.
My leadership placement is with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) at their Worldwide Office in Arlington, VA (a “suburb” of Washington, DC). Having lived in the DC area prior to starting the EC program last summer, I was ecstatic to return to my home in the “DMV” (DC-Maryland-Virginia metro area). In addition to the excitement of beginning my placement, I have been enjoying being back in the area!
Hiking at Cunningham Falls State Park in Thurmont, MD.
What work am I doing at TNC?
Over the course of my 12-week placement, I am assisting the Forest Carbon Science team update a study called Positive Disruption. This study is being conducted by The Epicenter for Climate Solutions (“EPIC,” but not to be confused with the healthcare software company), in partnership with TNC and the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI). TNC’s role in this study is to incorporate a careful look at the land sector through their Natural Climate Solutions (NCS) pathways in the context of the paper.
I’m working with the Rainforest Alliance at their Washington DC office. This is my first time outside Madison in the US and I’m trying to take advantage of being in a new city, I explore the museums here after work. The RA office is located just one mile away from the National Mall, this is very helpful for my daily museum expeditions.
My project focuses on Accountability Framework, it is a collaborative effort by thirteen NGOs to help fulfill commitments for ethical agricultural and forestry supply chains. I am interested in this project because the supply chains of big corporations cause most of the damage in the forests of developing countries, hence, making them follow a standard guideline for stopping deforestation seems to be the most effective way to reduce our overall carbon emission while saving the home to several wildlife species.
Rio de Janeiro is a beautiful city! This is the famous Pao de Acucar or “Sugar Loaf”, a symbol of the city.
I am at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,
working with the Conservation International –CI Brazil. Here I am assisting CI
team to consolidate and promote a landscape restoration project in the Amazon
rainforest. This project aims to increase global carbon stock, aid local
property owners to regulate their lands according to environmental law, build
ecological corridors, and support biodiversity. The project hasn’t been implemented
yet, but CI has already secured money to start the restorations activities and
there are already 3 companies interested in implementing the program on their
lands. In order to kick off the program, CI lacks studies indicating, at the
property level, specific areas for restoration as well information of costs and
benefits of restoring these areas.
The Nelson Institute: Environmental Conservation Leadership Projects 