[internship]: Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition

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Student Internship with the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition 

CONTEXT 

The Duwamish, Seattle’s only river, has been declared by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a Superfund Site, one of the most hazardous toxic sites in the nation, and its health and future are at a critical moment. After February, 28, 2013 (release date for EPA’s proposed cleanup plan), the affected communities and residents of the greater Seattle area will have 105 days to provide their comments, input and concerns. This will be our only opportunity to ensure a cleanup that is environmentally just and that provides A River for All: you, residents of the area, Tribal and subsistence fishermen, fish, wildlife, business and industry. All of us will be affected by how well the EPA cleans the river. 

Since 2001, the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition/TAG (DRCC/TAG) has been working to ensure that the cleanup of the Duwamish River benefits the community as well as fish, wildlife and human health. We (DRCC/TAG) will work to inform, educate and empower the community, in culturally appropriate ways, to have their voice heard and well represented in the public process of the cleanup. 

Our small staff (two fulltime staff and 2-3 part time) will be devoting (almost) 100% of their time to the task of informing, educating, engaging and empowering the river communities through the public process of the cleanup. We need interns and volunteers that can help us with a wide array of tasks related to outreach and community engagement but also organizing a two of our signature events (Duwamish River Festival and Duwamish Alive!). 

BASIC DUTIES 

DRCC/TAG’s Program Manager discusses interns’ and volunteers’ needs and together come up with a work plan and establish specific duties that will meet both our organization’s and students’ needs. Some of the basic duties will include: 

• Volunteer/performers recruitment 

• Attend planning committee meetings 

• Nurture the relationship we have with some of our partners 

• Elected officials engagement 

• Secure materials needed for the events (tools, sound system, trash/recycling, composting bins, other) 

• Secure the food and beverages needed for the event (donations) 

• Inspect the site to figure out the tasks volunteers will perform the day of 

• Advertise the event through different outlets (social media, media contacts, etc.) 

• Other 

We need the help as soon as we can get it. We expect students to devote 10-20 hours per week of their time from the time they start till their summer break. During summer, we would expect students to devote 20-40 hours per week. SKILLS NEEDED 

• Able to work independently as well as in a group setting 

• Person who takes initiative 

• Detailed oriented 

• Responsible 

• Able to multitask 

• Outgoing personality, comfortable with public speaking and community engagement 

APPLICATION PROCESS 

Send email/letter of interest and resume to Alberto J. Rodríguez at alberto@duwamishcleanup.org. 

OTHER INFORMATION 

The position will involve contacting community members and partners via email and phone (mainly). Students will learn how to organize different kinds of events, work with different partners, agencies and community members with a common goal (but sometimes different perspectives), learn about environmental restoration, local environmental justice issues, and experience life at a non-profit organization. 

The student will need to check regularly with DRCC/TAG’s Program Manager but will be able to work both in-house and remotely.

[job]: Community Conservation Specialist – Snohomish Conservation District

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Salary range: $41,000-$60,000 DOE

Closing Date: February 20, 2013, 4:30pm

Permanent, full-time, with benefits

Qualifications:

This position requires a solid background in natural resources conservation, project management, urban

planning and development, education and outreach, and communications. A Bachelor’s degree in a

compatible field of study from an accredited institution in natural/environmental science or any applied

sciences, urban studies, urban/environmental planning, communications, or closely related field is also

required. A qualified candidate should also be able to demonstrate experience and understanding of

local urban/residential natural resource issues, interpreting county and city codes and permitting,

working with the public on natural resource issues and addressing and solving resource management

problems.

Did you attend the UW Environmental Career Fair?

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Over 600 students attended the UW Environmental Career Fair to interact with nearly 40 organizations. If you attended the fair, the Environmental Career Fair Planning Team would appreciate your feedback to help them make the fair even better next year! Please take a moment and fill out a short survey about your experience.

Click here to be linked to the survey.

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For the fourth year, the UW Husky Green Award will recognize students, faculty and staff who have demonstrated leadership, initiative, and dedication to environmental stewardship and sustainability. We need your help to ensure our students, peers and faculty don’t go unrecognized!
 
Past winners include
  • Dean Pearson, who oversees compost, recycling and garbage sorting after each football game, which has helped increase waste diversion from 29% in 2009 to 43% in 2011 in Husky Stadium
  • Justin Hellier, a PoE Sustainability Studio instructor who has worked with students to envision and implement sustainability projects all over campus
  • Storm Hodge who, through his leadership, has made it possible for 54% of food purchases to be sourced locally. He has also helped over 650 tons of food waste to be diverged to composting
  • Cheryl Wheeler & Patio Display Garden Team who all have revitalized outdoor spaces at the UW Tower with low-maintenance edible plants and reclaimed huckleberry bushes, while donating fresh produce to the University Food Bank. 

If you know someone who has been making our campus greener and more sustainable  nominate them now! The deadline for submissions is March 30, 2013. To nominate someone, go to green.washington.edu/hga

For more information on the Husky Green Award, check out the video or flyer!

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After graduating from UW and the Program on the Environment program in summer of 2012, Erin Tomaras travelled down to Guatemala to act as the 2012 volunteer/research coordinator for ARCAS, a sea turtle project on the Pacific Coast. In Guatemala, it is legal to take sea turtle eggs from the beach, but there is a donation system in place that specifies 20% of each nest must go to a local hatchery. Erin spent four months conducting nightly beach patrols in order to look for nesting Olive ridley sea turtles as well as receive on the beach donations from the locals. Once we received or found a nest of eggs, we buried them in our hatchery.  After about 45-50 days the eggs hatched and we released the hatchlings into the ocean. She also helped educate tourists and the local children about sea turtles and their status in Guatemala. 

From her experience, Erin noticed that one of the hatcheries is almost unusable due age and weather events among other things. Without this second hatchery, less eggs can be saved from local poachers. So, she decided to take it upon myself to raise money for a new hatchery. Erin started a campaign on StartSomeGood (which is like a Kickstarter for charities), in which she needs to raise at least $2500 in order to receive any funds. To donate and/or spread the word, go to:

http://startsomegood.com/Venture/arcas/Campaigns/Show/build_a_hatchery__save_a_species

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

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In Fall 2012, ENVIR 480 students supported the UW Green Laboratory Certification program by engaging in student-designed, hands-on, project-based work. Specific project topics, and some highlights, included:

  • A comparison between LED and non-LED growth chamber lights.
  • Installation of sink aerators in Oceanography labs to reduce water waste, including a proposal for funds from the Campus Sustainability Fund.
  • Waste diversion and signage- graphics have been adapted for use in the official Green Laboratory Certification program (and seen here). 
  • Electricity monitoring and usage patterns in the Simpson, Kerr, and Klavin labs- results were shared with lab managers.
  • Green purchasing guide for labs to be used by UW Purchasing.

Class partners included individual labs, the ESS Office, UW Recycling, UW Facilities, UW Purchasing, and others. To learn more and to access class deliverables including the final newsletter and presentation, please visit the ENVIR 480 class blog at: http://envir480.tumblr.com/post/42286725867/greenlabs

And check out the UW Green Laboratory Certification! 

green.washington.edu/green-laboratory

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Spring 2013 ENVIR 479 PoE Honors Seminar- 2 credits
(Un)Making a Green Argument: Climate Policy and Environmental Advocacy

Last June, Rolling Stone published an essay by climate activist Bill McKibben titled “Global Warming’s Terrifying New Math.”  As a piece of popular advocacy, the essay is extraordinary in its clarity of argument and power of persuasion.  It has received over 123,000 likes on Facebook and launched a nationwide movement encouraging “divestment” of fossil-fuel corporate stock by public pension systems and university endowments.

 In this seminar we will critically examine this popular essay as an extended case study of modern environmental advocacy.  Over the course of 11 weeks, we will work through the essay’s factual claims, its reasoning, its rhetorical frames, and its policy conclusions.  We will critique how the essay was assembled and disassemble it into constituent pieces.  At the end of the class, students will reassemble the same pieces to reach their own policy conclusions.  Along the way, we will take tours of major proposed fossil-fuel developments and the current debates surrounding them—namely development of the Albertan tar sands, oil drilling in the Beaufort and Chuckchi Seas, and construction of proposed west coast coal terminals.

The purpose of this seminar is to encourage students to think about policy arguments from multiple perspectives and to consider how a given argument works.  What relative roles do logic, science, and rhetoric play in a given argument?  What facts do advocates highlight, how related are those facts to the advocates’ conclusions, and what policy alternatives are left behind?  This is not a seminar endorsing any particular environmental policy.  It is a quarter-long study in claims, counterclaims, strategies, and tactics used in current climate policy debates.  Diverse viewpoints will be welcomed and encouraged.

Class Day/time: Tuesdays 3:30-5:20
Taught by Todd A. Wildermuth, Scholar in Residence, UW School of Law
Open to Honors Undergraduates.

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In fall 2012, the ENVIR 480 class focused on the challenging and important topic of Green Laboratories. The eleven students learned a lot about laboratories on campus, and identified both challenges and opportunities to make them more environmentally sustainable. Building off of great partnerships with staff from individual labs, the ESS Office, UW Recycling, UW Facilities, UW Purchasing, and more, the students completed projects about topics including:
  • Sink Aerators
  • LED Lights
  • Green Purchasing
  • Electricity Monitoring and Consumption, and
  • Waste Diversion (the above graphic was designed by this group!)

To learn more, check out the ENVIR 480 class blog. There you will find the final class newsletter, the final presentation, a green purchasing list, and up-to-date information on the class right now (the current topic if Zero Waste)!

Also keep your eyes open for more coming soon from the ESS Office about the forthcoming Green Labs Program.

Speak Korean? Unique opportunity

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Do you speak Korean well enough to act as an interpreter? The Dann Woo Community Garden is looking for students interested in acting as interpreters for elder gardeners. The goal is, “…collecting gardener stories as a way to preserve their histories and pass the important knowledge on to the youth in our program”.

Want more information? Contact Joe Kobayashi at: jkob@uw.edu.

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Have you wondered if it pays to be a good environmental steward or socially responsible? If so, Dr. Dorothy Paun’s presentation on her triple bottom line sustainability research will provide food for thought. Come to Dr. Paun’s presentation on Wednesday February 6, from 4-5pm.

Dr. Paun’s presentation will provide insights about these relationships, as suggested by financial, environmental, and social responsibility performance data collected from a sample of global, multi-industry corporate annual financial and sustainability reports. She will discuss the potential benefits of a triple bottom line sustainability approach, one that strives to integrate, perhaps even balance, financial, environmental, and social responsibility roles, practices, and commitments.