Student: Maizie Smith, Environmental Studies major, Climate Change Studies minor For her internship with The Watershed Education Network, Maizie developed and taught lessons about climate change to Missoula high schoolers. She integrated the science of climate change and solutions to climate change with the Next Generation Science Standards. She also organized and compiled lesson plans that can become a resource for further climate curriculum interns and educators.

Student: Kadie Heinle, Wildlife Biology major, Climate Change Studies minor In her internship for the Defenders of Wildlife office in Missoula, Montana, Kadie entered and sorted data from the ongoing Wolverine Watch citizen science project. She entered data from the various station visits and sorted through the photos collected of the wildlife at the stations, with a particular interest in three climate sensitive species: wolverines, Canada lynx, and fishers (of the three, only wolverines have been documented).

Student: John Potenberg, Resource Conservation major, Climate Change Studies minor For his internship with the Montana Renewable Energy Association (MREA), John wrote profiles on home energy producers for the MREA’s monthly e-newsletter, The Energy Independent. John contacted renewable energy contractors around the state to search for possible profiles. Once a contractor found an ideal system and homeowner to profile, John interviewed the homeowner and wrote a story about their experience.

Student: Sara Luth, Exercise Science major, Climate Change Studies minor For her internship with Missoula Institute for Sustainable Transportation, Sarah organized a Sustainable Superhero Bike-a-thon event to raise money for Free Cycles and to build support in the community for sustainable transportation. She helped to create a website page, wrote press releases and advertised in other ways. Sarah also worked with other interns tabling in the U.C, putting on events for the Cycles of Change Campaign, and helping to create Free Cycles’ own local newsletter.

Student: Emma Thompson, Communication Studies major, Climate Change Studies minor For her internship with Environment Montana, Emma acted as the lead policy intern on a global warming campaign. She worked to manage media interactions, organize events, and gather support for the Clean Power Plan. Her position required her to utilize her communicative skills such as moderating a panel event and contacting renewable energy businesses across the state.

Student: Cassidy Schoenfelder, Art major, Art History minor As an intern for Climate Smart Missoula, Cassidy had the opportunity of bringing a community together through an art show. Individuals volunteered to paint on hollow core doors donated from HomeResource. She instructed them to paint their ideas of how Missoula could thrive through adaptation and resilience within the environment of climate change.

Student: Jess DellaRossa, Resource Conservation major, Climate Change Studies minor As the Zero Waste Intern for Climate Smart Missoula and Home ReSource, Jess addressed food waste in the Missoula community. She conducted a survey that was given to restaurants, grocers, and other businesses to gain local knowledge about food waste and interest in compost. During the semester she also went to Zero Waste Missoula meetings and events, and participated in an Open Air Art Show held by another intern.

Student: Rebecca Levandowski, Resource Conservation major, Climate Change Studies minor For her internship with the University of Montana Office of Sustainability, Rebecca helped organize the Campus Thrift event. This event diverts items from the landfill by taking donations and selling them for sustainability initiatives on campus. Rebecca recruited volunteers and collaborated with campus partners to make the sale successful.

Student: Verity Thorne, Environmental Studies major, Climate Change Studies minor For her internship with Free Cycles community bike shop, Verity spent half of her time in the University Center promoting Free Cycles, MIST, and the Cycles of Change campaign. The other half of her time, she spent in the bike shop. Verity helped customers, organized, cleaned, set up for events, disassembled bikes, fixed tires, rims, and much more. Verity also attended weekly intern meetings.

Student: Hannah Tibke, Human Biology major, Climate Change Studies minor For her internship with Missoula in Motion, Hannah worked towards finding a way to help the elderly ride the bus more frequently and more comfortably. She did research on other programs in the country, created and handed out surveys, and presented the information gathered from surveys at a Mountain Line meeting. 

Student: Stephenie Horne, Wildlife Biology major, Climate Change Studies minor For her internship with Defenders of Wildlife, Stephenie worked as a policy intern in Missoula, Montana. She worked on identifying upcoming Forest Service projects that could impact Defenders’ species of interest that are affected by climate change.

Student: Katy Hopkins, Environmental Studies major, Climate Change Studies minor For her internship with Free Cycles, Katy created a new Free Cycles newspaper to deliver news about sustainable transportation and also the Free Cycles Cycles of Change campaign. She made a crossword and a design for the header and footer of the newspaper. She also tabled for Free Cycles, put up posters, and provided energy and support for a number of community bike shop functions.

Student: Peter Sokol, Parks, Recreation Management & Tourism major, Climate Change Studies minor For Peter’s internship with Home ReSource, he developed a more accurate Waste Diversion Formula. He found average weights of items sold in each department and developed equations that made it easy to quantify the total poundage sold by Home ReSource each year. This information was then transferred to an excel workbook that will be used each year in the future to provide transparent records of Home ReSource’s efforts.

Student: Max Longo, Political Science major, Climate Change Studies minor For his internship with 350 Missoula, Max researched renewable energy policy and the role activist play shaping environmental policy in Montana  He primarily focused on State and City policy initiatives. After researching current legislative obstacles in renewable energy, he met personally with Montana State Senators and discussed their vision for renewable energy. He discussed how activist groups can help overcome legislative obstacles in renewable energy policy, and then relayed the information to 350 Missoula. He met with members of the community working on the Missoula Conservation and Climate Action Plan and informed 350 Missoula of progress and obstacles within the plan.

Student: James Schofield Resource Conservation major, Climate Change Studies minor Throughout his internship with Missoula Institute for Sustainable Transportation (MIST), under the guidance of director Bob Giordano, James’s efforts included a review of living building concepts and practices, logistical support for MIST hosted events, and representing MIST in support of local partnerships. He studied the inclusions of biophilia augmenting architecture, integrated water capture and filtration, other-than fossil fuel energy generation, social connectivity, and nature related wellness, to name a few. His research and review will serve as a future baseline for MIST to incorporate living building concepts into their home.

Student: Noah Root, Environmental Studies major, Climate Change Studies minor At the Watershed Education Network, Noah worked to bring climate change curricula into local schools. He partnered with Maizie Smith and helped teach several classes in Missoula high schools covering the issue. In addition, he established new lesson plans, ideas, and resources for the future of use of both educators and interns.

Student: Mariah McIntosh, Biology major, Climate Change Studies minor For her internship with the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER), Mariah McIntosh created a series of eight case studies connecting excellent projects in ecological restoration to climate change. Each case study featured a project in a different geographical location representing a variety of ecosystem types that addressed climate change through adaptation or mitigation. These case studies will be featured on the Global Restoration Network, a part of SER’s recently updated website.