Youth Involvement

Internship opportunities for 2015-2016 school year

Curriculum creator Katie Gavenus (green hat at left) shows Whittier students how oiled water affects bird feathers. Photo by Lisa Matlock.
 Alaska Oil Spill Curriculum contractor Katie Gavenus (green hat at left) shows Whittier students how oiled water affects bird feathers.

THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTING APPLICATIONS FOR BOTH INTERNSHIP POSITIONS HAS PASSED. We are no longer taking applications. Thank you for your interest in the council.

The council is currently recruiting for two interns to complete two different projects this school year:

  • Hydrocarbon Research Intern: The intern will complete a project comparing the historic and present properties of Alaska North Slope crude oil.
  • Environmental Education Intern: Intern will be trained to present K-12 Oil Spill Curriculum lessons for a variety of ages. The intern will then coordinate and travel to at least five PWSRCAC communities to present lessons to youth.

Both of these internships are appropriate for undergraduate students. The Environmental Education Internship may also be appropriate for a graduate student.

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Revised curriculum educates about oil spill prevention and response

By LISA MATLOCK
Outreach Coordinator

During the summer of 2012, the council hosted a workshop with environmental education professionals from all over Southcentral Alaska, pooling the best oil spill education programs in one place. Katie Gavenus, an environmental educator from Homer, was chosen by the council’s Information and Education Committee to put new activity ideas and the best of the original curriculum together. The resulting 2014 K-12 Oil Spill Curriculum will help today’s students understand the history and science of oil spills in Alaska.

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Alaska students reflect on effects of oil spills

This summer, ten students embarked on the 2014 Copper River Stewardship Program, taking 8 days to explore the Copper River watershed via raft, canoe, feet, van and ferry. Through this program, the Copper River Watershed Project wanted to help youth see themselves as active members of a united watershed community. A common theme of the program is “we all live downstream,” –what happens in any part of the watershed affects the whole.
The program taught the students about the 1989 spill, the ecological aftermath, and how it influenced communities, the industry, and the politics of the region. Students worked with guest teacher Jack Dalton to write “creative non-fiction” capturing their experiences and impressions. The following are excerpts from students.
–Kate Morse, Copper River
Watershed Project

Takodah Veach
Takodah Veach, Copper Center

“The point of this program to me is that we need to keep the land, and especially the watershed, pristine. It’s simple things like picking up trash or big things like trying to clean up the Exxon Valdez oil spill.”

-Takodah Veach, Copper Center

Ethan Castillo, Elvie Underwood, and Kobe Pence
Ethan Castillo, Elvie Underwood, and Kobe Pence

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