First Year Experience

Beginning with an orientation to place via waterways in the greater Seattle area, we will consider the practice of conservation and it’s applications to cities. We will examine the connections between historically altered waterways in Seattle, the displacement of plant and animal communities that ensued and the implications of modern day displacements on environmental and human health.

In our first excursion out of Seattle, we will enter the Skagit Valley area with a first stop at Mukilteo Lighthouse Park- the site of the signing of the Point Elliott Treaty.

Basing out of Padilla Bay the next 4 days, we will explore intertidal diversity and will be introduced to ways culture influences restoration efforts. We will engage with projects that utilize innovative approaches to restoring estuary habitat, protecting communities from flooding and preserving farms while providing better wildlife habitat. Later, we will meet with leaders at the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community to learn about Indigenous Health Indicators, a tool which integrates understandings of ecosystem health and social/cultural beliefs—to better evaluate and manage public environmental health risks and impacts. From there, we will make our way from Skagit to Whidbey Island to spend a few days on SkyRoot farm.

Our explorations within the Greater North Cascades ecosystem will take us to endangered alpine meadows, retreating glaciers and threatened forest ecosystems. This week focuses on ecological change and adaptive management of these habitats over the temporal scale of decades to thousands of years. Coming down the east side of the mountains, the Moses Coulee Field Station that sits in an oasis of sagebrush steppe embedded in a sea of industrial agriculture, we will explore issues of habitat fragmentation, dams, fire dynamics and water withdrawals within Colville Tribal lands and adjacent communities. We will reflect on impacts on local communities, including undocumented agricultural workers, and the efforts to enhance community sustainability and ecosystem resilience.

The Pack Forest Experimental Station – 4,250 acres from new plantations to mature forest – is less than 30 minutes away from Mt. Rainier National Park – 235,000 acres of wilderness including the most glaciated peak in the contiguous United States, old growth forests to alpine meadows, and over 1,000 species of flora and fauna. Here we will explore old-growth and working forest ecosystems, documenting patterns and exploring explanations for abundance and diversity. At Mt. St. Helens National Park, only an hour south, we will explore disturbance, succession, and resilience at an active volcano site.

Our week in Seattle is filled with hands-on explorations of urban conservation and environmental justice. We’ll work on a collaborative project that allows us to dabble in science communication, GIS, and community partnership while getting to know people, policies, and organizations that are transforming the field.

Exploring the wild and managed lands and waters of the Olympic Peninsula, we ask how approaches to protecting habitats and ecosystem services differ for a host of stakeholders. On the Quinault Indian Nation we will learn about their cultural and wildlife conservation efforts and visit a forest that provides habitat for cougars, massive trees for ocean-going canoes and incomes and livelihoods for tribal members. At the Elwha River, a landmark restoration project involving removal of two dams to re-establish free-flowing Pacific salmon habitat, we will dive into issues of water management and river restoration.

The prairies, oak woodlands, and freshwater systems of the South Puget Sound ecoregion are home to many innovative efforts towards collaborative stewardship of natural resources. From camas prairies to estuaries to the Washington State Capitol, interagency and intergenerational partnerships are working together to uphold and re-create healthy food, ecological and social systems for everyone and everything.

Back to the wider Seattle foodshed, we will dig into how food systems are constructed, and how the local and global markets and policies shape land management practices ultimately impact food security and the conservation of biodiversity. We will take a “food tour” to rural working farms, food distribution and waste management centers, and key sites of urban agriculture. From urban to wildlands conservation approaches, we will explore different projects to learn about policies for public health and climate change prevention in Seattle.

In the final week in Seattle, we will synthesize insights and experiences across the wild-urban continuum, present work to friends and family in the annual DDCSP Summit, and finalize individualized career plans for next steps in conservation leadership.