Anna Ruszaj interned with the Alliance for the Great Lakes, spending seven weeks with this advocacy NGO based in Chicago, IL.

The Alliance works on conservation and restoration in the Great Lakes region by focusing on policy, education and local efforts. Time during the internship was divided mainly between restoration, outreach, and education programs. The various responsibilities of each of the positions resulted in a challenging and rewarding summer experience.

As a restoration intern I worked on tasks relating to the Lake Michigan Watershed Ecosystem Partnership (LMWEP) which works to facilitate environmental stewardship in the Lake Michigan watershed area. The activities varied and included outreach work to identify potential new members, tasks related to organizing member meetings, face to face meetings with prospective members to facilitate increased membership to LMWEP, and working with LMWEP partner, Park District of Highland Park (PDHP), to create methodology for conducting bird surveys.

I found the work on bird survey most rewarding of all of my tasks because I was fully responsible for design and completion of the project. Highland Park is a suburb of Chicago situated along the shores of Lake Michigan. Bluffs and ravines found in Highland Park offer unique habitats for wildlife and for migratory birds using the Lake Michigan flyway and therefore protection of the local habitat is of paramount importance. In order to better understand the species composition of birds and to prepare a strong grant proposal PDHP needed to develop methodology for creating inventory of resident and migratory bird species and identify priority conservation species in the area. To achieve their conservation goals the Park District of Highland Park is in a process of applying for state and federal grants and the Alliance staff was asked for help in approaching the issue.

Drawing on my past experience with similar work I designed methodology for conducting point counts that encompassed three different habitats found on PDHP property: ravines, bluffs and savannas. The work involved close cooperation with staff of PDHP to produce GIS maps of areas of interest and then to produce methodology that wouldn't be hampered by access issues. The main limitations were the proximity of habitats to each other and to human development and lack of trails through some of the fragile habitats. However, working closely with PDHP staff member I was able to create a comprehensive plan for next seasoní¢â‚¬â„¢s field work.

Work with the education department concentrated on promotion of an educational resource called Great Lakes in My World. Although the Great Lakes ecosystem is complex and teaming with organisms, the Alliance staff has found that children often lack knowledge about the lakes. The examples of processes shaping lake ecosystems are not integrated as part of the school curriculum and children living in the Great Lakes region often do not know much about organisms inhabiting the lakes. To remedy the situation the Alliance produced an activity book that provide 80 outdoor and indoor activities for K-8 grade children to introduce and expand their knowledge of the Great Lakes ecosystem. Besides the activity book, the Alliance also produced a set of creature cards that identify the most common flora and fauna found throughout the region.

Following a successful reception of the activity kit in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin the Alliance is in the process of reaching out to educators in other Great Lakes states. As part of my internship I was working closely with the Education Coordinator to identify educational institutions such as museums, nature centers and zoos in the Great Lake basin of New York, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and Ohio. The initial stages of promoting the activity book involved outreach work to contact educational officers at the institutions of interest and provide them with information about the resource. I also began the process of aligning the activities with the educational state standards for each of the states so that the activities can be used by teachers in their classrooms.

This internship was a rewarding experience since it gave me a chance to use the skills and knowledge that I already have, but it also forced me to step outside of my comfort zone to perform some of the internship tasks. Prior to the internship I have not had any outreach experience and I did not feel very confident in my ability to promote an organization or their products. During the duration of the internship I had to do outreach on behalf of both LMWEP and education department. This allowed me to learn about the best approaches for reaching out to others and promoting the organization.

The internship introduced me to many different positions within an NGO. Even though I was working with only few of the projects I had an opportunity to talk to all of the staff and learn what they do and how they came to work in their position. I received a lot of valuable guidance as to the coursework and skills necessary to succeed in the future. My interest in watersheds and lake ecosystems has been significantly expanded so that I am taking a course in fluvial ecosystems to gain deeper understanding of the interactions between water, land and people.

The environment in the workplace was very friendly and conducive to exchange of information. Cooperation among staff members meant that people were involved in many different tasks and responsibilities. A perfect example of that was everyoneí¢â‚¬â„¢s involvement into preventing the petroleum company BP from releasing more ammonia and sludge into Great Lakes from one of its refineries in Indiana. Although I am not a policy major it was fascinating to see how the staff approached the issue, from convincing Congressman to take a stand on the issue to seeking public support through print and TV media."

Internship Details