In the fall of 2023, the North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI) reached out to us with exciting news—their doors were open to new member organizations for the first time in two years. During these discussions, Environment for the Americas (EFTA) was recognized as a...
Sorry to interrupt my normally scheduled programming full of wildlife awesomeness but last week I had the opportunity to spend 5 days camping in Yosemite and conduct seed collection of 3 native grass species: timber oatgrass (Danthonia intermedia), western needlegrass (Eriocoma occidentalis), and tufted hairgrass...
HEPE. Helichrysum petiolare. A strangely soft, flimsy plant that requires extreme smushing to access the roots (which are also surprisingly flimsy given the mass of the vegetation they support). It grows tendril-like over anything in its path (including up through the canopy of small trees)...
One minuet it was May, I blinked and now I am over halfway through and approaching the end of my 2026 season. This summer has flown by and I have gone from pushing up hill through new challenges and experiences, to feeling like I am running...
No internship is complete without a few challenges, and this one has certainly had its fair share. While I expected to learn new technical skills, I didn't anticipate how much I would grow personally throughout the experience.One of my biggest challenges was learning to trust...
For this blog I want to highlight one of my my recent events that I am the most proud of. This was my '(Everyday is) World Migratory Bird Day Celebration!' held at the Cape Perpetua Visitor Center on August 22nd. This was event that I fully...
Hello everyone! I've been learning a lot about plants, and I want to share it. Let’s get right into it today. Everyone here knows what a sunflower is. I’m sure at some point in your life you’ve seen someone eat sunflower seeds, or you’ve had them...
How to Catch a Bat in 10 Hours? Thinking back to one of my favorite rom-coms, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, one has to be clever. To catch a bat in 10 hours, you have to think like a bat; in many...
Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge It’s September 1st, the first day of my new internship at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. My lunch? Packed. ETA? Ten minutes early. My supervisor leads me inside the visitor center; we pass the front desk and enter through the...
My first three weeks as an EFTA intern at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Michigan Field Office were very eventful and exciting! My position is outreach and engagement, so one of my first-month tasks was learning about the outreach programs past interns developed. I...
Hi everyone, I am back with another blog! For this blog I want to take a look through a wider lens, looking outside of just this present season and a glimpse into the future. As I have repeated stated and implied through my updates this year,...