Summertime in Washington, DC may be sticky, but it is gorgeous.
What have I been up to?
Since my last post, my role on the Carbon Science team has evolved. I continue to work on my original project, contributing to the “new and improved” Positive Disruption study with our partners RMI and EPIC. As I had introduced in my last post, I am also plugging away at a study on reforestation opportunity in the United States, as well as a study assessing reforestation opportunity in countries which fall within the tropics.
Since my last post, I have been staying busy as the end of my internship with WWF inches closer and closer and I begin finalizing my project deliverables. Between all the reading, research, and scripting for the MOOC, I was able to enjoy a lovely Swedish Midsummer celebration with new friends, participated in an exciting global forum with policymakers at the Resilient Cities 2019 Conference in Bonn, Germany, and have begun to see my scripts come to life in initial filming for the MOOC. It’s been a pretty laid-back month, to say the least.
I wanted to wait until my last day as a Conservation International (CI) Global Strategy Intern (wow, that went quick!) to make my last post because we also launched my main deliverable, the strategic planning resource hub, on Friday. Many coworkers expressed how huge of an accomplishment and useful this would be for the organization, so the launch was pretty exciting for my supervisors and I!
About two-thirds of the way through my stay at Koh Yao Yai (KYY) has seen me comfortably settled in island life, interacting and learning about current affairs and attitudes of the community. I was specifically observing what people would do with their waste – finding myself highly aware of my own waste generation – since that is the focus of my project. With just over 2500 people to figure out in the sub-district I’m staying in (also called Koh Yao Yai), I found myself wondering what I could do and how I could help make a difference in short time I’m here for.
Since I last wrote, things have been rocking and rolling here in Portland. Mainly, I’ve been spending my time going back and forth, and back and forth again, about the re-messaging process I am leading. It’s been a somewhat arduous task, to be honest, mainly because there are many voices which need to be heard and who need to be on board with the direction we take. Coordination of that often-disagreeing input has been quite a challenge. Nonetheless, I am happy to report that we have made a decision as a group and I am now in the implementation process. Introducing…
A few weeks ago Y2Y offered me a position to stay on with the organization and continue some of the work that I have been focusing on for my placement. Particularly the efforts to streamline their strategic planning processes, while integrating elements of the Open Standards into their conservation planning and practices. It’s an excellent offer and I am excited to be based out of Bozeman, Montana where I can continue to build upon the connections I have in the SW Montana community.
Next week I am headed to Canmore, Alberta to partake in a week long strategic planning session facilitated by Elizabeth O’Neil from Conservation Measures Partnership. She’s an expert in the Open Standards so I’ll be very curious to see how the process goes via her lead. The staff have had many strategic planning meetings throughout the year, so although I may be coming in at the 3/4 point, I am still very interested to learn about the process they have gone through, and how best my future position can support the work. They may see a need for more conceptual models to be created, so I will hold off on wrapping up that part of my placement work since it may continue into the fall.
Current reading list … trying to learn as much about conservation planning before starting the new position. Also Jodi Hilty’s ‘Corridor Ecology’ book (not pictured) is great at breaking down the science behind corridor habitat work. I’m a little daunted by possibly being in a position to lead some organization planning changes! But also super stoked.
For now, I am focusing on completing the partner interviews I have lined up, and figuring out how best to review/distill the information gathered from the interviews. I will be in Canada for another week post the Canmore meetings, traveling around southern British Columbia meeting with Canadian partners. Then I have a Tribal Climate Change Adaptation conference in Spokane, WA to attend. So time will be extremely tight before presentations and project due dates in August. I’m trying my best to outline all the final materials this week so by the end of July I can ‘plug in’ the final text.
So I’m transitioning from saying ‘they/the organization/you’ to ‘we/us’ as I become a part of the team … a good transition to be going through.
I’ll post more photos of amazing mountains after next week …
This is the first time in 8 years that I have stepped out of the medical field and, though my time away is not permanent, wow, have I landed myself in a totally different working environment. Projects and press releases and deadlines. Not to mention the anti-scrub business-casual attire, or fashion, as I like to call it. Building online and over-the-phone relationships with clients is a form of customer service that is incredibly new to me. I have spent so much time with my hands on and verbal responses that I find myself questioning each and every email I type out or phone call introduction. This experience, if anything, has allowed me to strengthen the diversity of my professional communications. And, actually, learning to perfect my office wardrobe is something else I value in this current position, as dressing professionally not only gives me confidence but also persuades others to take me more seriously, especially as an intern.
The
Volunteer Day at James Madison Park was challenging because I had to lead it
with the help of two other interns. The usual CLA staff was busy organizing a
big event and submitting a grant application. It was a small group of
volunteers and most of them were retired. The task assigned was physically
demanding because we had to pull green algae out from the water nearby the
beach and bring it to a dumpster. I learnt this day that it is important to
take into account the limits of a group. We had to adapt our plan and set some
break time in order to keep the group motivated. During these down times, I
tried to use all of my communication skills acquired from the past year. For
example, I tried to emphasize the impact of their action by explaining that we
are not just cleaning up a beach, but we are raising awareness. Many people in
the park came to us to ask questions about the level of the lake, invasive
species, and algae. This was a great opportunity to improve my skills at
explaining complex environmental problems spontaneously. I think that my
explanation about zebra mussels had a great impact because I was able to find
some of them in the green algae. People are more likely to care about an issue
if they see it and experience it.
Last Tuesday, the 25th of June, was not a good day at work. After sitting down at my small cubicle on the third floor of TNC’s stunningly and sustainably renovated office building, I began working on my Natural Climate Solutions policy brief, editing, re-editing and editing some more. Earlier, while riding the bus to work, I had checked on the latest news about the walkout by Oregon Senate Republicans. For the last several days, 11 Republican state senators decamped to undisclosed locations in Idaho to prevent the Senate from having the quorum necessary to vote on Oregon’s “cap-and-invest” climate bill. As I researched policy options for incentivizing private landowners to sequester carbon on natural and working lands, I checked again on the news coming out of Salem.
As the end of June nears, I find myself startled that the end of my first month on Koh Yao Yai is already upon me. It’s been a whirlwind of events, a cycle of preparation and reports. Since my last post, I have reflected further about my position here and evaluating what I can do with the time and resources that are available.
The Nelson Institute: Environmental Conservation Leadership Projects 