EarthCorps Puget Sound Steward
I am a Puget Sound Steward at the Terminal 107 Park along the Duwamish River in Seattle. I help to restore and maintain the habitat at this site through regular weeding, watering, planting, and monitoring. I also help coordinate and lead other volunteers helping at the site.
Inspiring Connections Outdoors Leader
I volunteered for six years with the Sierra Club's Inspiring Connections Outdoors (ICO) program, a community outreach program providing opportunities to explore, enjoy and protect the natural world for those who would not otherwise have them. I planned and led trips for middle school students. For example, we visited a local salmon hatchery and I facilitated games to help the students learn about salmon. I volunteered with chapters of this organizion in both Seattle, Washington and Washington, D.C.
Seattle Animal Shelter Volunteer
As a volunteer with the Seattle Animal Shelter's Critter Team, I help to socialize the critters, including rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, birds, and reptiles, at the shelter and help them find their forever homes.
Pacific Science Center Science Communication Fellow
As a Science Communcaiton Fellow at the Pacific Science Center, I developed hands-on activities to teach the public about my research. I presented these activities at Meet A Scientist events and special events like Polar Science Weekend. I've continued presenting these activities at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and other community events.
Making Connections Mentor
The Making Connections program helps youth from underrepresented backgrounds interested in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) explore these fields and pursue higher education. I mentored four high school girls, helping and guiding them as they explored career opportunities, studied for the S.A.T., applied to colleges, and kept up with schoolwork.
Jessica Rohde and I developed and presented a career exploration workshop for the Making Connection students to introduce them to the field of fishery science, share our experiences, and present career opportunities in this field. We also incorporated a hands-on activity where the students learned about and identified local tidepool organisms in a touch tank.
- Rohde, J. and M. M. Stachura. 2011. What does it mean to be a marine biologist? Making Connections Career Exploration Workshop.