Support
This summer I had the opportunity to intern with Henry's Fork Foundation's South Fork Initiative. With the generous support of St. Lawrence's Center for Career Excellence, I was able to spend my summer working on the South Fork of the Snake River, where I not only gained invaluable communication and outreach skills, but also developed a deeper understanding of the importance of conservation. This experience allowed me to connect with community members, learn how to share complex ideas in clear and approachable ways, and see firsthand the impact that thoughtful stewardship has on both the environment and the surrounding communities.
As the South Fork Initiative Intern, my day-to-day tasks entailed running our outreach program, Morning Bites, to spread conservation information about SFI. A key part of my role was helping the public better understand SFI’s conservation work. I shared information about macroinvertebrate sampling, which tracks aquatic insect populations, to reveal insights about river health and fishing conditions. I also spread awareness about our water quality monitoring program, where three sondes along the river provide real-time data on temperature, turbidity, and dissolved oxygen levels for anglers and conservationists. In addition, I communicated the importance of creek restoration projects, which play a vital role in creating spawning habitat for native cutthroat trout and ensuring the long-term resilience of the species.
Other than Morning Bites, I also assisted with occasional field work, wrote newsletter articles for Henry’s Fork Foundation, kept track of and logged data for the outreach program, and assisted with Henry’s Fork Foundation’s fundraiser, Henry’s Fork Days.
This invaluable learning experience would not have been possible without the encouragement, knowledge, and generosity of the people I had the privilege to work alongside. Thank you to the Center of Career Excellence for funding this unique opportunity, and HFF for their amazing support group.