and I came to Sitka National Historical Park as an intern for the Climate Change

Youth Initiative.

My job was to do science-based communication

at a historical park with primarily cultural resources.

The project's title was Small Park - Big Resources.

Little did I know the title described exactly the dilemma that smaller parks

are facing.

How can we communicate climate change? Do our visitors care?

It was pretty tough conducting field projects in Russian period clothing!

Just kidding. Most days I wore waders and spent time monitoring the park's

Indian River.

The salmon that spawn in this river year after year are the keystones of the ecosystem.

Their presence provides nutrients to other organisms and the surrounding

environment;

not to mention their vital role in Sitka, economically and culturally.

One aspect of my internship was to explore how these living representations

of Sitka are being threatened.

I conducted research on the river and contributed to a longer-term

data-collection effort.

We got up close and personal with salmon while measuring streamflow

and determining the health of their habitat. Understanding how much water is

flowing through the river tells us a lot about the snowmelt and rain

that feed the river each season. Thousands of salmon come home to the

Indian River

and its water level is at a crucial tipping point for supporting the strong runs

that we saw this year.

Another project we worked on was collecting dead salmon and determining

if they had strayed from the nearby hatchery in an effort to spawn.

We collected the salmon's earbones, called otoliths, which would be thermally

marked to indicate hatchery fish.

After beheading 100 salmon, I am officially an expert at otolith

extraction.

One of my other projects was water quality monitoring

for factors like pH, temperature and dissolved oxygen;

all really important in understanding the salmon habitat.

I monitored bat activity, looked for invasive green crabs,

collected mussels and helped with the fish contaminant study too.

The other part of my job was science outreach:

communicating what I learned to our visitors. Most important is what I

learned from them.

Visitors care deeply about these special places. They're curious,

concerned and hopeful about climate change. Website updates,

table talks about salmon and evening programs

all help start the climate change conversations.

With exceptional weather and a great group of coworkers

I managed to fit in some fun outside too. There's nothing like being on top of a peak

to help you put all the projects into perspective. These patches of snow

literally feed our river. The surrounding landscapes keep the park healthy and

alive.

Sitka has undergone a lot of changes.

But perhaps the most significant change is now upon us: climate change.

I didn't understand before what big resources a small park could have;

not necessarily literally but in their role as a platform for teaching about

climate change.

I'm confident other interpreters nationwide will answer the call for

action I hear so loudly.

No matter a park's size or resources, I feel strongly that this topic can and must be

communicated everywhere.

This internship has taught me that climate change must be a phrase in

every interpreter's vocabulary.

I will continue pursuing my passion for Environmental Studies in Education at

the University of Washington

and never forget the lessons that Sitka and its inhabitants

(human, salmon or otherwise) have taught me.