Student: Paul Willett, Multimedia Communications major, Exchange student
For his internship with the Climate Change Studies Department, Paul served as the program’s communications assistant. In that role, he created an informational video about the CCS program, which features interviews with six students. He also created a promotional video for the Vietnam Study Abroad program, redesigned a logo for the CCS program, helped  manage the Facebook page, and promoted events that were going on inside the school and around the community through mass media.

Student: William Gregg, Communication Studies major, Climate Change Studies minor.
William interned with the UM Dining Gardens, supporting their work in sustainability. He spent his time working in four gardens: the Lommasson Center, aquaponics, microgreens, and the South Avenue garden. He worked on preparing the gardens for the spring/summer growing seasons and completed a range of tasks from recovering the gardens from the winter season to building beds and seeding crops. He also led tours, teaching the campus community about UM’s sustainable and local food production. Check out William’s blog post.

Student: Carmen Thissen, Biology major, Climate Change Studies minor
As an intern with the National Park Service, Carmen Thissen worked to evaluate the effects of climate change on resources at Grant-Kohrs Ranch (a park unit located in Deer Lodge, Montana). Because Grant-Kohrs is a functioning cattle ranch, Carmen focused specifically on sustainable grazing strategies to improve soil health and protect natural and cultural park resources. Check out Carmen’s blog post.

Student: Carly Andlauer, Ecological Restoration major, Climate Change studies minor
For her internship with Climate Smart Missoula, Carly worked to create interactive maps using the ESRI ArcOnline StoryMap software. She collected data, organized information, and formatted maps and outreach information to be embedded into the Climate Smart website. Check out Carly’s blog post.

Student: Tom Donahue, Resource Conservation major, Economics and Climate Change minor. 
For his internship with the Missoula Institute for Sustainable Transportation (MIST), Tom worked as a sustainable pavement advocate, researcher, and designer. He researched how sustainable pavements significantly reduce carbon emissions, and installed a 32-square foot ribbon driveway as a demonstration project. Tom continued his internship through the summer by completing an educational demonstration project on campus, given by UM’s Facility Services. Check out Tom’s blog post.

Student: Sean Quartz, Communications Studies major, Climate Change Studies minor
For his internship, Sean worked with the Greenhouse Gas Management Institute, an organization that educates professionals on the methods and intricacies of greenhouse gas accounting. His main task involved writing an evidence-based blog about the rhetorical functions of social movements, with a target audience of politically engaged climate scientists. This internship allowed him to share some of his communications studies training, in particular, how to use discursive methods toward political ends. Check out Sean’s blog post.

Student: Savannah Stewart, Wildlife Biology major, Climate Change Studies minor
For her internship with the Defenders of Wildlife, Savannah helped to manage their Wolverine Watch citizen science project. The program addresses climate change by proactively monitoring populations of cold-adapted species like wolverines. Each week, new data packs would come in from the volunteers who ran the camera-trap stations. Savannah’s job involved inputting information from datasheets, hair samples, and photo SD cards into an Excel database. She had to label each photo that contained an animal with the correct species name and this made her wildlife ID skills essential. Check out Savannah’s blog post.

Student: Sara Humpers-Ginther, Sociology major, Climate Change Studies minor
As an intern for the Watershed Education Network (WEN), Sara produced a presentation focused on the issue of climate change. She used her previous knowledge and research skills to develop a presentation that was introductory, informative, and valuable for younger students who are not frequently exposed to such an issue. The presentation focused on facilitated dialogue, where students were encouraged to express concerns or ask questions throughout the presentation to encourage discussion. She successfully delivered these presentations to an after-school program (Girls Using Their Strengths) as well as one high school classroom (Willard Alternative School). Check out Sara’s blog post.

Student: Kenley Crisp, Economics major, Climate Change Studies minor
For his internship with the Missoula Institute for Sustainable Transportation (MIST), Kenley researched which alternative paving techniques were most sustainable for the environment. He met with his advisor bi-weekly discussing his research and its application, and interviewed local business owners and contractors dealing with pavement. His final project involved a written cost benefit analysis comparing alternative types of pavement that are more ecologically friendly to traditional paving techniques. Check out Kenley’s blog post.