For the Reporter
The majority of Green Kent Partnership restoration events take place in the spring and fall, but some volunteer stewards continue holding work parties throughout the summer season.
Still, summer can be a difficult time to schedule them in between vacations and other outdoor commitments. To ensure that invasive species don’t get the upper hand, interns are providing additional staff support.
This is the third year that a portion of King Conservation District grant funds have supported hiring a Green Kent Partnership college intern whose major is related to natural resources management.
The first two interns were from Green River College.
This summer’s intern is a newly minted graduate of the environmental science AS degree program at Tacoma Community College. Andetrius Lee began July 1 and will be with the Parks department through October, giving him plenty of hands-on restoration practice and leadership experience.
“Several members of my family are in the military, and I have had the opportunity to see and live in many different areas of the world. I decided to continue my education in the state of Washington primarily because of its beauty, and I am very happy to call this state home,” Lee said. “However, my continuing education has increased my awareness of the alarming rates that wildlife diversity is diminishing in urban natural areas. I believe that future generations should be given the opportunity to fall in love with our area’s distinguished beauty just as I have.”
With funding from a State Farm Youth Advisory Board grant, Kent Parks was able to create a new summer internship opportunity this year for five local high school students. With oversight by park staff, the Green Kent college intern serves as their crew lead.
Selected from a strong candidate pool of local teens, the Youth Environmental Service (YES) Corps began its internships on July 13. They are working at six forested parks, spending a week at each one, learning teamwork, native plants at the sites, how to give a thorough safety briefing and record progress on work logs, and best management practices to control invasive species. The team is being given time each day for journaling so that they can report out on their experiences by preparing a Powerpoint talk to present to Green Kent staff.
For more information, contact Victoria Andrews at vandrews@kentwa.gov or visit GreenKent.org.
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