My internship is at the Salmon Protection and Watershed Network (SPAWN) in Olema and my mentor is Jonathan Appelbaum. I am a restoration intern which basically means that I assist in various restoration projects that they are working on. Most projects are at people’s houses in the Valley who live along the creek and want to make their yard more “environmentally friendly”. In most cases, this means removing nonnative plants and planting native ones. We also put down sheets of coconut husk that helps stabilize newly planted plants and prevent erosion. I usually go to my internship every Saturday, weather permitting, and work from the morning to the early afternoon. I really enjoy my internship and I like the feeling of knowing that I am making a difference in the native Coho salmon population. Since it is getting into the rainy season and the salmon are starting to make their way upstream, I hope that I will have the opportunity to help more with the conservation of the fish.
