Losing Passion but Finding it Elsewhere

By the end of the fall semester last year, I was starting to lose interest in my schoolwork. My chemistry classes weren’t making enough of a connection to the environment for me and I wasn’t able to find that connection for myself.

I was glad I chose to go on the J Term trip Sustainable Public Policy in Arizona. Not only was the climate and landscape new and exciting, my education was focusing on the environment again. We traveled around Northern Arizona looking at sustainability through the lens of public policy and economics. As I mentioned in my previous post, we looked at sustainability through the lenses of water, immigration, National Parks, and Native Americans. We did a lot of hiking, for which the weather was perfect, and had the opportunity to explore a lot of the natural world in Arizona and see much of it from a great perspective. As a environmental science student, I had taken Environmental Geology and enjoyed relating what I learned in that course to the sustainability of Arizona’s geology, especially in Jerome, a mining town built into the mountainside where they have had a history of buildings sliding down the hill. I absolutely loved traveling to the National Parks and am keeping the National Park Service (NPS) on my list of potential employers for when I am ready to enter the workforce. Check out my photo blog for more stories about and photos from Arizona!

I also learned about the GeoCorps program between the NPS and Geological Society of America (GSA), while attending the GSA North East Regional conference in March with Z (Dr. Zsuzsanna Balogh-Brunstad), my academic advisor. The conference was at the Mount Washington Resort in New Hampshire and the snow cover was beautiful. Attending the conference with Z was very exciting for me because I had the opportunity to learn much about the environment from another perspective. I learned that geology is very interesting to me, but even more so I learned that the interface between geology and chemistry interests me. This interest was reinforced by my spring semester classes as well. I took Environmental Chemistry but the lab did not fit into my schedule so I took the geochemistry lab class.

I greatly enjoyed both. Environmental Chemistry took our fundamental chemistry knowledge and showed us how it applied to understanding and protecting the environment. The geochemistry lab was great because it showed me the environment from another perspective and also gave me a chance to share some of my chemistry knowledge with others since geology students don’t get as much of a chemistry background. My geochemical research of the Ouleout Creek also showed me that I enjoy the interface between geology and chemistry. This research also reinforces my idea that I really like to work with water since I enjoy this research and as I have mentioned before, I was excited to sign up for the water presentation when we were in Arizona.

This past spring I also started to move away from my traditional chemistry classes in another direction. I took two more political sciences classes with possible applications to the environment. Dr. Sara Rinfret was the Political Science professor who taught the Arizona class and she was my advisor for my summer internship with Roots & Wisdom last year. I decided to take two of her classes this spring, Regulatory Politics and Policy and Public Policy. If you had asked me in high school if I would ever take a political science class willingly I would have said no. I have learned, though, if you put the right spin on something you can find how to make it interesting to you. If there is a way to look at something with an environmental focus, I can develop a passion for it and find motivation through that passion. By the end of the semester, I enjoyed learning about policies and regulations. I now plan to graduate with a minor in political science. I think it is important for people in the science field to understand the public policy process so they can understand how their research can make a difference; it is also important for policy makers to understand the science relevant to the decisions they will be making. With all this knowledge, I went into my summer internship unsure about where I wanted my future to take me but excited to meet professionals in the environmental field and to learn more about working with a federal agency where environmental policies and regulations are very important.

It Has Been A While - Internship Reflection

Hello, everyone!

Wow, it has been a while since I have posted a blog entry. I apologize. As soon as my summer internship ended, I went camping for a week end then had about a week to pack and get ready to come back to school. I had training for my position as  a Blue Key Tour Guide, then I volunteered for Welcome Weekend and then classes started. This semester is going well so far. I am taking Environmental Geology, Ecology, and Instrumental Analysis which is a 400 level Chemistry course. I love how I can find connections and overlap between my classes, especially Ecology and Environmental Geology, I won't talk about that overlap now, but maybe I will at another time.

So I didn't end up posting as much about my internship I thought I would. The day-to-day activities were not  very interesting and I had to write a journal every day in order to receive academic credit. The journal entries were too long to post here and focused on my daily tasks which wouldn't be too interesting for you to read. I have decided to post my final reflection however so you can know more about how my internship was. I had a really great experience this summer! I always enjoy my time with Roots & Wisdom.

            This summer internship was a great opportunity for me. I was able to try my hand in many different aspects of the Roots & Wisdom program. I really enjoyed working behind the scenes and being more involved in outreach. Debbie and I both agree I did much more than I thought I would be doing this summer, but I did more in a good way. I was exposed to many things and learned much about the program, non-profits in general, and about myself.            During the first week of my internship, I wasn’t really sure what I would be doing this summer other than helping organize and host events in the garden. I was just getting the feel of the office and the internship position. I started to learn slowly from the fundraising book, Fundraising for Dummies, and by going through Chris’s old documents. It was good to be familiarized with the program again and to have the garden party event to think about right away. During the second week, I learned more about fundraising, how to plan an event, and how to work on the presentation of a gift. I also learned that my networking background from the PSGE Center Link Programs is very useful and that I can mingle well. The biggest lesson I learned that week was that I could increase my attention to detail since I spelled some names incorrectly on the envelopes I was addressing.            I was very busy in the office during the third and fourth weeks of my internship, too. I learned how to navigate online newsletter templates and improved my design/presentations skills further. I also worked on advertisements for certain events and programs. One of the greatest experiences during those weeks was to take part in the Strategic Alliance for Health Coalition meetings. I learned more about my county and more importantly about other possible career opportunities related to the topics I loved learning about through the Roots & Wisdom program as a youth worker. I also practiced my attention to detail more with the start of donor list, and I was re-familiarized with the program through the crew leader training sessions I attended.            After the first four weeks of my internship, the youth program started. At first, I was still working in the office most of the time. However, as the summer went on, I was in the garden much more often for events and the planning processes for events and programs. We had many types of visitors and performed many types of activities this summer.            Through working with the youth, I learned to have patience. I also learned that I will always love working with people. I am a social person and I love talking about what I do and what matters to me. I enjoyed welcoming guests to the garden and also going out and giving flyers to people and telling them why they should shop at a farmers market. I now know that I can work well in an office setting but would prefer a mix of office work and some sort of field work/promotional work with the public. I also feel that working in a laboratory would be the wrong setting for me, but I enjoy knowing the scientific facts that support the arguments for certain environmental causes.
            Sustainable agriculture, food justice, and personal and environmental health through agriculture have always interested me. I know I want to do work along the lines of promoting sustainable food options or supporting, creating, and/or publicizing policies that can make a positive difference in our world. This internship has helped me narrow down my passions for a career. This internship has also taught me what workplace values are important to me. I like to keep busy, I like to work on the computer, I like to design outreach materials, I like to work with social media, I enjoy working in an office, but I also really enjoy talking to people. One-on-one, in-person communication can make a huge impact on someone especially when coming from young people.            I have many great foundations for skills including communication and networking skills. I can be adaptable in my day-to-day work. I also am very organized and get things done in a timely manner. The most important thing I have learned from this internship is something I have been slowly learning at school. What you learn in the classroom is just the beginning of your education. Being able to apply the knowledge you learn is the most important aspect of learning. I believe the most important aspect of college is to learn outside the classroom. I am glad I took advantage of this internship opportunity and the link program opportunities I have participated in so far. I believe the most important part of college is discovering who you are and taking advantage of every opportunity you have to do just that. Whether you are discovering what to major in, what career path to follow, or just what type of work environment is best for you, college is where you can discover who you are.
            I have loved all of my experiences with Roots & Wisdom and I am so grateful for them. I don’t think I want to work with a program like that again. Not right away, anyway. I wouldn't mind volunteering in a community garden, but I want to expand my knowledge and expand the experiences I have. I want to try new things within the environmental field and find the specific area that fits me. After interning with Roots & Wisdom, I believe the sustainability and policy areas are what will call to me and I now know what type of work environment would be ideal. This internship was an amazing opportunity for me and I hope that I do receive the EPA award and have another positive learning experience next summer.

Greenhorn Radio Interview

To anyone who has been following my posts, sorry it has been such a long time since I have posted. I have been busy with my internship and enjoying time with friends. As I have been working, I feel posting few larger posts about my internship may be a better choice. I don;t want to bore anyone with all the little details. In the meantime, I have a radio broadcast to share.

Back in February, I was interviewed for a radio broadcast for Greenhorn Radio.

Greenhorn Radio is radio for young farmers, by young farmers. Helmed by acclaimed activist, farmer, and documentarian Severine Fleming, Greenhorn Radio is a weekly phone interview session, surveying America's cutting edge, under-forty farmers." The interview was set up through Roots & Wisdom. I described the program, my experience with it, my recycling internship and pilot study, youth in agriculture in general, and my future plans to work with the environment.

You can listen to the approximately 25 minute interview here.

Internship Day Four -- Veggie Theatre Rediscovered!

I love Veggie Theatre. I have mentioned it in a previous post and I will definitely mention it again this summer. Today, I worked more on organizing Chris's old files for the Event and Outreach Binder I am putting together and I focused on Veggie Theatre resources for the day. I found some old raps and skit scripts so I decided to go through all of my old videos and type up any skits, raps, poems, etc. that were missing. I printed them all out for the binder and they can now be used again or as inspiration for new ideas for this summer and years to come. I believe the only act that has been repeated is the Veggie Rap which traditionally ends the theatre program. Veggie Theatre is a great way to promote sustainability and healthy lifestyles through entertainment mediums and the youth really enjoy themselves and have an opportunity to gain more self-confidence through the performances.

Several Veggie Theatre skits can be found on the Roots & Wisdom Youtube page. The video below is the Veggie Rap as perform in 2008. I love Eliah's commentary :)

Green Chemistry

I never realized how environmental unfriendly Chemistry could be until I started taking lab courses in college and when we learned about Green Chemistry in my Organic Chemistry lab classes. The 12 Principles of Green Chemistry are listed below. My source is the American Chemical Society Website.

Many chemicals used in laboratories can be very harmful to people and the environment. Green Chemistry tries to find other solvents and chemicals with similar properties to the dangerous chemicals but that are less harmful. Green Chemistry also works to use less chemicals in order to produce the same yields and focuses on the use of chemicals that can be reused many times. The principles of Green Chemistry have the main goals of reducing waste and harm through changing techniques and chemicals used.

I think improving Green Chemistry is very important. We are not going to stop producing things chemically anytime soon so focusing on improving the safety and lowering the waste produced during chemical processes is a very important goal in the scientific world if we are going to keep our planet as healthy as we can for as long as we can.

Veggie Theatre -- Roots & Wisdom

I will be working with Roots & Wisdom again this summer as the Events and Outreach Coordinator and I am starting to get excited for this opportunity. Most of my blog posts during the summer will pertain to my experiences in this position. I would like to give you a little taste of what those posts might be like. Veggie Theatre has been a part of Roots & Wisdom's open house and used for participation in Be Vocal, Eat Local Week. Veggie Theatre is comprised of skits, songs, poems, etc. performed and/or created by the youth workers and the crew leaders. Veggie Theatre is designed to be educate people about the sustainability and health of organic agriculture through entertainment. Below are two videos from last year's program.

The video above is a Harry Potter spoof about organic gardening written by Shannon Turnbull and myself. This skit had mainly crew leader involvement.

Above is video featuring Shannon, Catherine, Mike from the events crew, and Sarah, a volunteer. All four of them worked for Roots & Wisdom together in 2008. This video is a brief taste of the veggie rap. A full version can be found on the Roots & Wisdom YouTube page, along with other inspirational or informational videos.

Silent Spring Review

Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring sparked the environmental movement in the United States. Silent Spring is an important part of environmental history. Everyone should want to learn about the environment for the decisions we make as individuals and the policy decisions we support will affect the environment for future generations. I recommending Silent Spring for anyone interested in environmental issues, especially those who to study and improve the environment. Even though many of the facts in Carson’s book are out of date, the basic concepts she talks about are still important to understanding the environment today.

I read Silent Spring last year for my Environmental Politics and Policy class. The main points in Silent Spring are the chemicals we use kill everything, the small doses of chemicals we are exposed to each day build up over time, and chemicals are only a temporary solution that can actually make the situation worse. Below is an adaptation of the review I wrote about the book. I hope the facts discussed in the review spark your interest and maybe even inspire you to pick up the book and see what you may learn from it. Enjoy!

Carson opens the book by describing the beauty of a small town in the country eventually destroyed by a “strange blight” or “evil spell”. This town is fictional, but the situation she describes was found all across the country at the time she wrote the book. “They should not be called ‘insecticides’ but ‘biocides’”. This short quote by Carson sums up one of her most important points; pesticides kill everything, not just their intended target. Pesticides destroy protective enzymes, block the oxidation process, prevent the normal functioning of organs, and may even cause cancer. When people use pesticides, they are not only destroying the pests they are targeting they are harming themselves. The use of pesticides may also wipe out other species of pests or even species not considered pests because the chemicals poison an entire area.

Another main point in Silent Spring is chemicals are everywhere. The small doses of poison people expose themselves to every day build up in fatty tissues over time. This build up is called chronic poisoning. Toxins also build up in the food chain. Biomagnification is the buildup of toxins in the fatty tissues of organisms as a result of eating other organisms that each contain a small dose of the toxin. Carson discusses the buildup of chemicals throughout the book and about how we cannot possibly test for all of the chemicals around us. “But we do not know the identity of all the chemicals or their total quantity, and we do not presently have any dependable tests for identifying them in highly diluted state”.

The storage of chlorinated hydrocarbons begins with the smallest intake and the toxic chemicals are stored in the fatty tissues of the body. “When these reserves of fat are drawn upon the poison may then strike quickly.” Pesticide poisoning does not happen immediately. The toxins build up over time and symptoms are not observed until it is too late to prevent suffering. Unfortunately, people need tangible, obvious results in order to pay attention to an issue. As Dr. Rene Dubos said, “Men are naturally most impressed by diseases which have obvious manifestations, yet some of their worst enemies creep on them unobtrusively.”

            Chemicals are only a temporary solution to a pest problem and they tend to cause the problem to return worse than it was before the use of chemicals. Over time, insect and other pest populations become resistant to chemicals. This is a classic example survival of the fittest. A few of the insects are not affected by the pesticides and are able to reproduce and pass their resistance on to their offspring. Insects reproduce much more quickly than humans do and resistance to pesticides can develop quickly. Nature has its own controls on pests that are better than any chemical we will ever make.

“The first is that the really effective control of insects is that applied by nature, not by man. Populations are kept in check by something the ecologists call resistance of the environment, and this has been so since the first life was created. The amount of food available, conditions of the weather and climate, the presence of competing or predatory species, all are critically important. ‘The greatest single factor in preventing insects from overwhelming the rest of the world is the internecine warfare which they carry out among themselves, said the entomologist Robert Metcalf. Yet most of the chemicals now used kill all insects, our friends and enemies alike.”

(Below is the conclusion word-for-word from my paper. The opinion I express in the conclusion is the reason I am considering the career path toward working with environmental policies. I feel it is very important that policy makers understand the scientific and environmental impacts of the policies they draft, agree upon, and pass.)

Carson’s basic points about the danger of using chemicals, their overall ineffectiveness when it comes to pest resistance, the unknown consequences of using chemicals, their negative impacts on non-targeted species and humans, and the effectiveness of nature on its own are still relevant to our practices today. Policy makers should better understand the impacts of the use of these chemicals in order to make better-informed decisions. Any policy maker who is going to deal with policies that effect the environment, especially those that involve the use of chemicals, should have the basic knowledge of the effect of the chemicals that Carson discusses in Silent Spring. If people understood that the negative impacts of chemicals and the positive results of natural controls that Carson discusses are still relevant today, policy could be shaped to lessen the use of chemicals that would lessen our negative impact on the environment and save money by not spending money to continually apply chemicals where they are not effective.

Roots & Wisdom

Roots & Wisdom is where my interest in the environment started. Roots & Wisdom is a community agriculture program that focuses on youth, specifically teens. Roots & Wisdom brings together the diverse population of the county. Teen can participate in a six week job program during the summer. Not only do the teens work in the garden to grow the plants, but they participate in workshops on topics in sustainability and community building, team building exercises, work with six to eleven year old children in the children's garden program, sell produce at a road side stand, and facilitate events in the garden for visiting groups.

I was and remain the only teen worker from the rural part of the county. Working at Roots & Wisdom gave me the opportunity to be exposed to diversity and to the idea of sustainable agriculture. I formed great friendships, learned a lot, step outside of my comfort zone, learned life and work place skills, and met many amazing people. I even met my future college roommate in the garden. I was inspired to chose a career path that would lead to sustainability and/or the environment.

I enjoyed my experiences with Roots & Wisdom very much. I worked as a youth worker during 2008 and 2009. Last summer, I returned as a crew leader and led the Events Crew in daily garden tasks and in planning and running events in the garden. I taught the youth how to give tours, design and run workshops, and lead children's groups in the garden. This summer, I will return as an intern as the Events and Outreach Coordinator and will expand upon the role I had as the events crew leader. I will train everyone how to facilitate events in the garden, I will coordinate with groups who would like to visit, and I will search for founding opportunities for this nonprofit organization. I am very excited to be working on a different part of this program.

If you would like to learn more about Roots & Wisdom, follow this link to their website. I believe urban agriculture programs for youth can make a great difference in the community and in the lives of the people who participate in the program. I encourage everyone to get involved with agriculture in some way. Being outside, especially with others, can be a very enjoyable experience and gardening is a great pastime.

Welcome

Welcome to my new blog!


As stated in the description, this blog was inspired by a conversation I had with an alum at a networking reception that was part of my college' D.C. Link program, a job shadowing program with alumni in Washington, D.C. The alum I spoke to is an entrepreneur and suggested a good way for me to start reaching out to people about the environment was through social media, specifically blogging. I believe this will be a great way for me to practice talking about environmental and sustainability issue I care about and to learn how to effectively communicate the importance of sustainability and the environment to many types of people. 


Since I am a busy college study, I will not be able to post very frequently, but I hope to post once a week at minimum if possible. I plan to draw on topics I learn in class and while working, this summer I will work again with the sustainable agriculture program I worked at in the past. I will also talk about current events from time to time and possible add my own reflections to articles I read or news stories I see. Since I will be drawing on topics from classes for inspiration, some will be topics about chemistry in relation to the environment. I hope to explain those topics well enough for anyone to understand, but if you have questions about the science, please, do not hesitate to ask.


My first few posts will be about some of my own experiences working with environmental and sustainability issues such as my summer jobs with the sustainable agriculture program, an internship about recycling I did on campus, and some other aspects of my experiences with the environment and how they have set me on a path toward a career that deals with the environment.


Catherine Grace