Environmental, Community Interns Make a Difference in Maine

Environmental, Community Interns Make a Difference in Maine

By Rebecca Goldfine

Nearly forty students this summer received funding through the McKeen Center and the Environmental Studies Program (ES) to work for local government and nonprofits that are protecting the environment and helping improve people's lives.

Both of these campus offices run large internship programs to give students workplace experience in mission-driven organizations.

The McKeen Center oversees four internship initiatives. While the Maine Community Fellowship explicitly focuses on the state, its Bowdoin Public Service Fellowship and Denning Summer Fellowship often end up funding a cohort of students who want to work in Maine, as well.

This summer the ES Program supported students through several dedicated funds, including the Kappa Psi Upsilon Environmental Studies Fund, the Poppy Environmental Studies Fellowship Fund, and the Hayes Foundation Fund for the Environment.

Last week, administrators of Bowdoin's Maine-based internships invited students to share their experiences at a poster conference in Morrell Lounge. Staff and faculty attended, as well as many of the nonprofit supervisors and civic employees who mentored the fellows.

Before each student gave a brief presentation, Rosie Armstrong, the coordinator for the environmental studies grants, thanked the community partners. Her appreciation was echoed by McKeen Center Associate Director Tom Ancona and McKeen Center Associate Director for Public Service Wendy Van Damme, who advise the McKeen Center interns.

"Thank you for welcoming the students into your workplaces, introducing them to colleagues, encouraging them to take on projects, to give presentations, to participate in events, and to be a part of the important work that you all do," Armstrong said.

Guests checked out the posters before listening to students describe their summers.

Each student was invited to summarize their ten-week internship, name a highlight, and thank those who guided and advised them.

Below are some shared highlights, edited for length.

Environmental Studies fellows:

Issie Gale '25, town of Topsham's planning office: "Transforming a PFAS-contaminated landfill site into a pollinator site to help wildlife and pollinators amid colony collapse disorder."

Evan Grauer '26, The Nature Conservancy of Maine, Brunswick: "Getting to work on a preserve accessibility project, where I went to nature preserves across Maine to survey them."

Eli Mears '26, Coastal Enterprises, Inc, Brunswick: "Researching solar policy, trying to get small communities in Maine cheaper energy prices."

Selima Terras '26, Milkweed Farm, Brunswick. "Tending to the crops-all the weeding, picking beetles. It is very slow work that makes you appreciate what it takes to grow food."

Justin Whitney '25, Maine Coast Fishermen's Association, Brunswick: "Working alongside a heritage industry of fishing in Maine and talking with a bunch of salty and interesting characters throughout the state!"

Eden Zumbrun '26, city of Bath's sustainability office: "Using a Maine flood-resilience checklist to compare what Bath has done in terms of flood preparedness and highlight areas where they need to improve."

Maine Community, Maine Government, and Denning Fellows:

Nasra Abdirahman '26, Merrymeeting Gleaners, Brunswick: "Learning about how much of a community effort it takes to fight food insecurity."

Yasmine Biyashev '26, Hope Acts, Portland: "Getting to meet amazing asylum seekers in Portland."

Eleanor Donahue '25, Maine Governor's Energy Office, Augusta: "Learning about the offshore wind industry in relation to the state of Maine."

Elizabeth Gill '25, Milestone Recovery, Portland: "Meeting a lot of brave people and discovering a passion for street outreach."

Gary Hernandez '27, Portland Housing Authority: "Mentoring fifteen- to seventeen-year-olds and watching them grow."

Frances Hornbostel '25: Sexual Assault Support Services of Midcoast Maine, Brunswick, and Portland Housing Authority: "Attending a meeting to talk about how to build on preventive education effort in midcoast Maine schools. There was so much passion and dedication in that space."

Rickey Karunadhara '26, town of Topsham: "Learning about how US local government systems work."

Georgia Katkov '26, Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program, Brunswick: "Creating a deeper connection with the Bowdoin community."

Ashley Morash '26, town of Topsham: "Working on a comparative wage study for the town. I'm really excited to see those results hopefully impact our fire and police employees."

Eleina Sturk '25, Maine Seaweed Exchange, Gouldsboro: "Seeing the ins and outs of the seaweed industry, and seeing what steps people can take to support it."

Ben Weintraub '26, town of Harpswell: "Getting to know a tightknit community of people who care about each other, the environment they live in, and the local issues impacting them, like climate change and fishing."

Below is a sampling of student posters describing their internships.

Generous donors support a number of McKeen Center and environmental studies student fellows each year. Special thanks to the donors of the Davidson Fellowship, Kappa Psi Upsilon Environmental Studies Fund, Lee Lockwood Fellowship, Logan Environmental Studies Internship, Haas-Fisher Fellowship, Hayes Foundation Fund for the Environment, and Poppy Environmental Studies Fund.

Published July 31, 2024