Kathleen Henry (’16 BS) is Education and Special Projects Coordinator at Superior Watershed Partnership and Land Conservancy, a Marquette-based environmental and community-based nonprofit organization that operates throughout all 15 counties in the UP. In this role she helps coordinate programming for the Great Lakes Climate Corps (GLCC).
Several crews of the GLCC are deployed across the region this summer, working on initiatives to help the environment. In early June, GLCC crew leader Olivia Maynard and crew members Jacob Fewkes, Liv Gordon, and Michael Silvernail assisted in the Native Plant Park of NMU’s Outdoor Learning Area (OLA). These NMU students helped remove spotted knapweed, an invasive species that inhibits the growth of native plants, and tansy, which is an aggressive, deep-rooted plant that crowds out other species. Then, to keep unwanted plants from returning to the bare areas, they spread seeds of native grasses and flowers. With careful watering—and hopefully some gentle rain—residents of Birch West should have a refreshed field of native plants to view out their window this coming fall.
Olivia (graduating in December 2023 with an Environmental Science major and a Natural Resources concentration) explained, "Last year I was a member of a GLCC trail building crew, and now I'm in a crew leader position." She has enjoyed working with several different agencies, including the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Natural Resources Department. For her senior capstone research project in Winter 2023, Olivia analyzed data from the annual frog and toad call surveys on the KBIC L’Anse Reservation to detect trends in abundance and distribution over 25 years. This summer she is helping directly in that community as part of the GLCC.
“Being part of the GLCC is a nice way to give back to the U.P.,” said Jacob Fewkes (senior in Sustainable Business and Enterprise Creation). “Doing something meaningful—something that matters—is a great way to give to the community.” Working with the GLCC and getting involved in so many activities is helping Jacob think about careers on the sustainability side of his major, while also realizing that he will be able to apply his knowledge of budgeting to help projects succeed.
Liv (Outdoor Recreation & Leadership Management major) is completing the GLCC internship for her final course requirement. The experience has helped her decide that she looks forward to doing seasonal work as part of a crew after graduating in August 2023. Liv explained, “I love being able to be out in the field as a way to explore different natural resource avenues. I am learning so much about how organizations like non-profits work, using different tools, and getting to know various ecosystems. And living and working together [as a crew] is a cool bonding experience.”
Michael (Environmental Studies and Sustainability major) reported that participating with the GLCC has been fun. He found out about the opportunity from his GC 205 instructor Kathleen Henry and GLCC Program Manager Tyler Penrod (’20 BS). Michael said that it has been great to work with so many partners, including Forestry at the Natural Resources Department in L’Anse. “When we got started this summer, I learned so much in one week…knowledge and on-the-job skills. Unreal! And each week is different.”
All four students are gaining experience with field work that they know they will need after graduating. Their efforts in the OLA benefited its ecological functioning and the aesthetics that visitors to the site will appreciate. It’s a win–win–win for all.