Summer 2007 Interns

A Ducks Unlimited Intern’s Story

Abi Max, a high school student from Timiskaming District Secondary School (TDSS) in New Liskeard, Ontario, was one of the newest student interns hired through Green Street as part of the Ducks Unlimited Canada Wetland Centre of Excellence Program
(see www.ducks.ca/resource/teachers/classroom/index.html).

This is how she got there in her own words………

My name is Abi Max. Ever since I was a young girl I have expressed an irrepressible love for the outdoors and the study of living things. I would rather have run after frogs in the mud and read about life in the Serengeti than play with dolls and nothing has changed since I’ve gotten older.
I entered the TERRA course at TDSS in 2006, which was perhaps the most fundamental element that helped me develop a true fascination and interest in the world of ecology, especially wetland ecology. TERRA stands for Teaching Ecological Responsibility Recreation and Adventure and you can learn more about it at www.dsb1.edu.on.ca/tdssterra/welcome_to_terra.htm.

I have also been able to gain general experience in the conservation field by accompanying Mr. Peter Gilboe of the Ministry of Natural Resources in his field work, where I got to experience a day in the life of a conservation officer. Now, next July my ambitions are taking me to the coasts of Costa Rica, where I will travel with other students through a guided tour of mystical rainforests, sea turtle conservation stations, banana plantations, and much more. It is my goal to broaden my perspective and to someday become a conservation officer or biologist.

I meet all the qualifications for this wetland internship. Due to my TERRA background and my current position as a JEDI in the program, I am very familiar with the Ducks Unlimited Hilliardton Marsh where our wetland studies take place north of New Liskeard. My bird banding skills are good and continue to improve, while I have been deemed the seasoned aquatic insect instructor for the many school groups who come to the marsh. I have taught a variety of children from different schools and grade levels about the marsh and the importance of our conservation efforts there.

Although simply talking about the marsh is an important way of passing on the message, experiencing it up close and personal presents a more interactive and fun way of learning. Whether a child gets wet and muddy trying to catch tadpoles or a parent gets scratched by a pecking chick-a-dee, they will always remember their visit to the marsh. These are the kinds of lasting impressions that can allow the marsh and its inhabitants to be recognized for their ecological importance. I believe this realization can bring us closer to our conservation goals at the marsh.

This internship is a true opportunity to do something great for the marsh and for the people of the Tri-towns area. I am honored to represent this program.

Summer 2006 Interns

Jacob Bayless
Jacob Bayless was co-winner of the 2006 Brightest Minds of BC award for Physics and chair of his school's Global Issues Club. With club members Jacob helped organize a fundraiser for victims of the 2004 tsunami. Closer to home, he took it upon himself to organize a food drive for the Vancouver Food Bank. With his leadership, the school donated over 15,000 cans of food – an average of 10 items per student. Jacob has also been very active in encouraging others to get involved in similar initiatives, and has arranged for guest speakers to visit his school in hopes of inspiring fellow students to become more active in global issues. Jacob successfully lobbied for a bike-sharing program at his school to give students and teachers easy access to a clean commuting alternative. He is currently working to provide used school supplies from his high school to developing countries.

Katryna Benedik
Hi! My name is Katryna Benedik. I’m 17 years old and currently attending Clarence Fulton Secondary School. Some of my interests include art, music, writing, science, and travel. I enjoy volunteering my time in the community. I also love spending time outdoors and discovering more about our earth. I am actively involved in my school’s Wetland Centre of Excellence, where we are restoring a wetland area and educating others about the importance of wetlands. I recently went on a rotary-sponsored trip to Creston for “Adventures in Wildlife,” where I learned valuable information about various environmental issues. I am looking forward to my summer internship at the Allan Brooks Nature Centre. This is a wonderful opportunity to expand my knowledge of the environment and be able to educate others about it too. Some of my duties will include providing interpretive programs to the public, collecting and entering data on a website, trail/site maintenance, and participating in restoration projects. Environmental issues are important to me, and I believe that people should realize how significant these issues are for the well-being of everyone and everything in the world. Mother Nature has blessed us with a natural environment that we are quickly destroying. We only have one earth, and it is our responsibility to take care of our beautiful planet so that life will continue to flourish in the future.

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but Nature more.
~ Lord Byron

Andrea Evans
My name is Andrea Evans. I am 17 years of age, and previously attended Fort Richmond Collegiate. As of this September, I will be attending the faculty of Engineering at University of Manitoba. I have interests in environmental issues, which has come to light in my involvement in such activities as Envirothon for the past three years, as well as participating in a variety of Green Street activities, including the Youth Forum in February and March 2005, volunteering as a Wetlands Centre of Excellence mentor for the past three years, and attending a Green Street Wetlands program at Oak Hammock Marsh. I also have an interest in science in general, participating in such activities as the Manitoba Schools Science Symposium, and the Sanofi-Aventis Biotechnology Challenge, both for the past four years, the Business of Science conference for the past two years, and traveling to Australia for a Biotechnology Innovation week. I also have participated in Student council, charity and Amnesty clubs in Fort Richmond Collegiate. I have dedicated much of my time also to music, in the form of studying piano under the Royal Conservatory system, achieving grade eight practical and grade two theory, as well as playing for the community club softball team.

In my eyes, I see this internship being foremost an excellent opportunity to enhance understanding and comprehension of wetland issues, both on the part of myself as I assist in further developing the Wetland Centre of Excellence program at Kelburn, and for the student and mentors who participate in the program in the future. I also believe that the internship will be an excellent opportunity to participate in processes that will further benefit the overall knowledge of wetlands that I currently have, with projects such as nest boxes and water and soil testing throughout the watershed lending to a more developed understanding of the overall impacts and ecosystem that surround wetland areas.

Environmental and sustainability issues are of high importance to me. This is because both are issues that drive to the heart of any and all global efforts to achieve a maintainable and prosperous status within the limits of our one planet. Environmental and sustainability issues are those that hold the key to developing the techniques and understandings that are imperative in guiding the decisions that are made today, and which will impact upon the condition of our futures. Thus I do believe environmental and sustainability issues are justified in receiving a high level of importance and consideration.

Nic Gooderham
Hi, my name is Nic Gooderham. I live on an island on Lake Temagami in Northern Ontario. Ever since I was little I always loved being around nature. While going to high school at Timiskaming District Secondary School one my friends told me how much fun he was having in the T.E.R.R.A. program so I decided to apply for the course. T.E.R.R.A. is an outdoor education program designed to make students aware of and involved with nature. The students get to do many different activities such as camping, canoeing, rock climbing, white water canoeing, bird banding, and much more. T.E.R.R.A. stands for Teaching Ecological Responsibility Recreation and Adventure. This summer I’ll be working at Hilliardton Marsh which is where the T.E.R.R.A. students do their bird banding. My job will be to band ducks and complete building and maintenance jobs. In September I’ll be attending a Fish and Wildlife program at Sault College in Sault Ste. Marie.

Sondus Jamal
My name is Sondus Jamal, and I am the new intern at the Ecokids program. I am a graduating student at Rick Hansen Secondary School in Mississauga and going into my first year of environmental engineering at the University of Guelph. This year is my first year in Canada and so far it has been great. I have been a babysitter and a tutor for the last three to four years. Moreover, I was part of various school clubs like ECRF, Ecotrek, SWAP, and peer mentors. I am looking forward to working on the Ecokids program and being able to turn my passion for the environment into effective action. I believe we are entrusted with this Earth, and it is our duty to protect and preserve it. Hence, I believe the best way to ensure this happening is through awareness campaigns and programs that target the youth of today who will eventually grow to be the leaders and decision makers of tomorrow.

Allie Kepkay
My name is Allie Kepkay and I am a 17-year-old student attending J. L. Ilsley High School. I will be entering my final year of high school in the fall. My hobbies include reading, drawing and playing the guitar and violin. Throughout my high school experience I have been able to become involved with various environmental and social justice issues. I have been able to lead education programs such as Winter Treasures and Mysterious Encounters with the Adventure Earth Centre and this past May I attended their national youth conference and AGM. I’m very excited to be working as a Green Street intern this summer with the Sierra Club of Canada- Atlantic Chapter. Although I haven't had much experience with Sierra Club or Green Street, I am very anxious to learn more about them because preserving and raising awareness about the environment is one of my passions. I hope to further my skills of environmental education through this great opportunity!

Frank Alexander Pacheco Ospina
My name is Frank Alexander Pacheco Ospina and I live in Vancouver B.C. I am part of the Sierra Youth Coalition of Vancouver and have been a participant
since the summer of 2005. I am currently attending David Thompson Secondary school and am going into my Grade 12 year. I am a very involved person and
have attended various events. They include, Making Waves 2005, Queer Film Festival, Our Community Story Project, Smoke Screen 02 Commercials, and participating in the Reel 2 Reel Youth Film Festival. I'm a very outgoing
person and love to be around diverse and open people that enjoy staying
active and positive. What sustainability means to me is withholding a
limit to industrialization in the world and expanding, enriching, and
teaching about agricultural flora and fauna and how it is so important for
the world to realize the importance of it.

Francis Gervais Paré

Nikola Parent
My name is Nicolas (alias Nikola) Parent. I'm a 17-year-old high school student attending Gisele-Lalonde high school. I've been volunteering with the Sierra Youth Coalition for about 3 and a half years, and I'm still in love with the organisation!

Through this organisation, I have accomplished many things such as organising events and protests to rise against menacing corporations and corrupt governments that threaten world ecology and equality.

My passion is with no doubt the constant fight for sustainability, and I believe that this energetic passion has greatly helped me achieve goals. For example, when I found out that Sierra Youth Coalition did not have a sustainability assessment program for high schools, I decided to spear head Canada-wide project that would serve this purpose. So far I have written, with the help of others, the framework that will put this project in motion, and I am currently working towards distributing this document to high schools around Canada.

Even though I spend a lot of time working on sustainability projects, I have, however, many other interests. I absolutely adore contemporary art and photography, and these are two things that I always reserve time for since they are very important in my life… I believe these things ground me. I also enjoy sailing very much, and I stand as a member of crew (petty officer) on the St. Lawrence II sail training vessel. And last but not least, I am also in an electro-punk band named Jaded Community; our lyrics turn around the fundamentals of sustainable ecology, world peace, end of slavery and abolishing government and corporate tyranny.

It is my great pleasure to be working for the Sierra Youth Coalition this summer and I thank you many times for giving the funding for this.

Besides spending a lot of time at Kelburn Farm providing a Wetland Centre of Excellence program for grade 4 students, I like to water-ski, hike, canoe, and bike in the summer at my cottage, and ski and snowboard in the winter. I also like to do various crafts, participate in the MHSAA (Manitoba High School Athletic Association) Champions program, play trombone in the FRC concert and stage bands, be part of student council and play hockey for my school. In the past 4 years my family has hosted four international students from Korea, Mexico (2) and Thailand. In the past years I have volunteered at Boo At The Zoo, various sports events, various events for raising money for Crohn’s disease and colitis, and various Cops for Cancer events including mall stands, triathlons and marathons.

During my years at Fort Richmond Collegiate, I have been involved with Green Street. A group of students, including myself, have put on a Wetland Centre of Excellence program for grade 4 students at Kelburn farm. The grade 4 students come for half a day and participate in many activities including ecogames, critter dipping, and a biodiversity walk, with the purpose of emphasizing the importance of wetlands and conservation of wetlands.

During this summer internship, I hope to learn a lot and accomplish a lot for the program that is run at Kelburn Farm. In the plan that was made for our summer internship, many excellent ideas were put forth that will considerably improve our program. Some of these include creating an herbarium, making a display of work done by the kids that come on the field trip, and formally documenting the activities that are run so that people in the future can continue our program. We have already had a good start at these jobs as well as many others. I have learned a lot about identification and biodiversity, and I hope that my knowledge will only increase as this internship continues.

The importance of environmental and sustainability issues are important to me and are considered in my daily life. The fact that global warming and the effects of human strain on the environment have already increased the extinction of organisms by absurd amounts worries me, and the fact that life, heat waves and drought are affecting our agriculture and daily lives does too. If we want to see ourselves living like we do in the future, there will be necessary breakthroughs to reduce greenhouse gasses without changing the daily lives of people, which is seemingly impossible. If we don’t do something about our enormous economical footprint, our world will not be sustained for future generations.

Samantha Richard
My name is Samantha Richard, but you can call me Sam. I am seventeen years old, and live the small town of Sackville, New Brunswick. I am the ‘soon-to-be’ Student Council co-President at Tantramar Regional High School, where I am involved in many extra-curricular activities. I play on our school’s varsity girls’ hockey, soccer, volleyball and cross-country teams, and I am actively involved at the Tantramar Wetlands Center (TWC).

The TWC is a unique indoor and outdoor facility, spread over a 15-hectare freshwater marsh, which offers students and visitors from throughout the Maritimes opportunities to experience the value of wetlands and the importance of environmental preservation, through a number of different hands-on activities. The Wetlands Center delivers programs during each of the four seasons, so we’re always busy, whether it’s banding ducks, digging through the ice, or critter dipping! I feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to volunteer with this one-of-a-kind education program. I have learned so much, and now have the chance to share my knowledge with visiting students and teachers.

The importance of maintaining wetlands is overlooked by much of today’s society. What is merely a “mud-filled stink hole” to many is in reality a home to thousands of plants, birds, mammals and invertebrates. Wetlands offer many benefits to humans, such as the purification of our water; therefore the sustainability of wetlands is essential to the well being of our planet.

It’s great to have been selected to work with YSC this year and I am really looking forward to my Green-Street Summer Internship here at TWC. I hope that we are able to promote environmental sustainability toward a greener future!

Amy Sears
My name is Amy Sears, I am 15 years old, and I attend Tantramar Regional High School in Sackville, New Brunswick. In my spare time I enjoy playing soccer. This is my first year ever being involved directly with Green Street, but I have been volunteered with the Tantramar Wetlands Center for two years now. TWC is a big part of our school. I really enjoy working in the wetlands center, because I get to teach the younger kids who visit us new things about wetlands that they didn't know before. I also learn new things every time I'm there.

I think the Green Street Internship is going to provide a great opportunity to learn more about environmental and sustainability issues and I will also be able to explore ways that I can act on these issues. The internship program is a great way for youth to become involved, like they should, in caring for our environment.

François-Mathieu Sornin

In this text, I will tell you a bit about myself, François-Mathieu Sornin (also known as "Bio" amongst kids at the camp) as well as this internship I am about to experience, thanks to Green Street.

So, let's start by the simple stuff. I am 15 years old and was hired by Muséobus with the financial support from Green Street. I was hired as a Eco-Nature intern, which means I will conduct or participate in several activities on different environmental themes all throughout the summer. For example, every Monday the student from Ozias-Leduc who set up a wonderful compostig school project comes to the camp to teach us about the benefits of composting. Later, our goal will be to fabricate 10 composting bins and sell them. I believe that briefly summarise what I will be doing this summer. Of course, I wil also be doing many different little activities that will be environment-oriented.