We also went many places away from cities so the skies were clear from much pollution and I could see so many stars and the Milky Way sometimes too! It was so beautiful and unforgettable! The enchanted old-growth trees and vibrant moss amazed me. Through the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program, our cohort was able to hike through some of the Hoh Rainforest and it was so mesmerizing. Some of my favorite places to visit are the Hoh Rainforest and places with old-growth forests and clear skies to see the stars. We also joined Tanner Humphries on his project with wildlife monitoring, and retrieving fisher cameras. We have also joined Jen Syrowitz at a Washington wildlife conservation conference meeting to learn more about policy and projects happening around the PNW. and we were able to share them with the Forest Service to assist with ranking the sites by primary restoration need. The surveys include questions about tree damage, erosion, litter, etc. We did this by taking surveys of dispersed camping sites and making educational outreach signs for the Greenwater and Little Naches area. Since I am interested in restoration projects, I was placed with Conservation Northwest helping with the Greenwater riparian restoration project. Many people of color have disconnected from the natural world because of the racist past but I would like to take the power back and become positively connected to nature again! After college, I plan to go to graduate school and work on restoration projects dealing with freshwater and plants! I became interested in this field because I have a passion for encouraging people of color into the outside world without the negative connotation while also ensuring environmental justice. I am originally from New Jersey, and I go to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, majoring in environmental science! My main interests include large ecological restoration projects, plant and water resources, and policy. I interned with Conservation Northwest through the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program this past summer. At Conservation Northwest, we do our best to practice this value in our work, but time spent with the next generation of diverse voices brought to bear this need, and how we can always do better. Policy and advocacy became their new interest, pairing well with their shared desire for just and democratic decision processes that intentionally include underrepresented voices. Their Conservation Northwest mentors – Laurel Baum, Tanner Humphries, and Jen Syrowitz- were educated and inspired by their ways of knowing and practicing. They made professional connections at a wildlife connectivity workshop and led their scholar cohort on a hike in the Greenwater River corridor, identifying all the new native plants they learned in the field. Amber’s beautiful plant and wildlife drawings will be on full display on our public lands!Īmber, Kareli, and Mikayla engaged in a wide breadth of experiences with us, ranging from wildlife camera retrieval, to dispersed recreation surveys, to garbage and invasive plant removal at I-90 wildlife crossings. A shared interest in plants and community outreach led to their primary project: developing educational signage to protect meadows, restoring riparian areas near waterways, and connecting wildlife corridors in different watersheds around the Central Cascades. This enthusiastic team brought diverse experiences to our 2023 field season, and we had an incredible time learning together in our beautiful Washington wildlands. Mikayla Agbamuche, Amber Smith, and Kareli Mora Ayon – each attending a different school from across the country – joined our staff for the summer. Agbamuche, and Amber Smith from on Vimeo.įor the second year in a row, Conservation Northwest has had the good fortune and great privilege to work with three bright young natural resource students through the University of Washington’s Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program. Riparian Restoration and Education at Conservation Northwest – Kareli Mora Ayon, Mikayla J.
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