Lake Stewards of Maine works to conserve Maine’s lakes so that they can provide resources and enjoyment for many generations to come. They do so by training volunteers throughout the state to survey their local lakes for invasive species and monitor their water quality. Additionally, as the threats of climate change continue to grow, Lake Stewards of Maine is increasingly working to combat these changes through their programs.
My work for Lake Stewards involved assisting in the planning and execution of their annual conference, held at a local brewery, and a golf tournament. Additionally, we launched a 50k matching campaign and I assisted with marketing for it. I also led a peer-to-peer campaign in which volunteers and staff members could create and promote individual online campaigns which contributed to our larger 50k matching campaign. Work for this involved planning the campaigns, recruiting volunteers to participate, assisting with and troubleshooting participants creation of their campaigns, and creating resources for volunteers to use throughout their own campaigns. Finally, I assisted in the writing of grant proposals towards the end of the summer. This included research on the activities of the organization, both past and future, and compiling this information to fit the requirements of the various grant applications.
Going into this internship I aimed to learn some of the challenges a non-profit faces and how to overcome them, the most effective ways for a non-profit to raise funds, and what types of jobs in the environmental field are most appealing to me. Through my work I gained invaluable insight into each of these objectives and much more.
The highlight of my experience was getting to help out at the Annual conference at NU Brewery. It was incredible to get to talk face-to-face with so many volunteers and see them get commemorated for their hard work. Getting to create and hand out awards to volunteers, some of whom have been volunteering with LSM more than 40 years struck me by how dedicated the volunteers are to the work they are doing and how impactful it is on their own lives and the lives of others. It made me understand how special of an organization LSM is to have some of the longest serving volunteers in the country.
Another highlight for me was getting to go on an invasive plant paddle on Big Lake in the Belgrades. Big Lake was recently found to have an infestation of an invasive species and LSM ran a workshop where many volunteers eager to help survey the spread of the infestation and begin removal efforts showed up. It was amazing to see how vital of a role LSM plays in finding and containing invasive species in Maine.
My Environment major at McGill greatly helped me get a running start at LSM. Having taken numerous environmental science classes prior to my internship I was able to easily understand the science behind the trainings LSM holds which allowed me to connect and understand the work LSM is doing right at the beginning.
This position allowed me to get a much better sense of the type of environmental work I would like to do in my career. My biggest takeaway is that I would like to work hands-on directly in nature and if working for an organization like LSM which has a constituency, ideally work directly with volunteers.
The funds from the John Wasileski Arts Externship Awards were essential for me to be able to work this position and allowed me to travel to Maine and work in-person at LSM for a period which deeply enhanced my work and connection to the staff and volunteers.
Thank you to the McGill International Experience Awards, and Mr. Wasileski, for your generous support which made this experience possible for me!
