Contacts:
Jennifer Benito-Kowalski, Save the Redwoods League
Phone: 415-820-5814 | Email: [email protected]
18 Humboldt State University students are gaining real-world experience conserving redwood ecosystems this summer alongside forestry professionals
Download the full press release
Redwoods Rising, a multi-year collaboration between Save the Redwoods League, the National Park Service, and California State Parks, was established in April 2018 to restore more than 70,000 acres of historically logged coast redwood forest in Redwood National and State Parks.
“Restoring the redwood forest within these incredible parks will take years, but we can start today,” said Richard Campbell, director of restoration for Save the Redwoods League. “The Redwoods Rising apprentice program and the support provided by the HSU students and faculty are critical to achieving our restoration goals while offering a strong, hands-on learning experience.”
This is the second year that the Redwoods Rising staff has worked with HSU to train the next generation of conservation leaders while they study and restore the forest. In 2018, Save the Redwoods League worked with HSU faculty to hire eight summer apprentices to assist parks staff in collecting forestry and botany data. For 2019, they have expanded the program and hired 18 students. They are collecting data and quantifying baseline conditions of stand characteristics; growth rates of the trees; the diversity and abundance of plants and wildlife; and conditions of the waterways, roads, and infrastructure in the young, regrowing forested areas.
“This is a tremendous learning opportunity for our students, and we’re thrilled to be able to expand the program this summer,” said Dr. Erin Kelly, Associate Professor in Forestry at Humboldt State University and Councilor for Save the Redwoods League. “The Redwoods Rising apprentices will work on projects with real, lasting ecological benefits for the redwood region, and they’ll acquire skills they can use throughout their careers.”
Redwoods Rising Apprentices from Humboldt State University
- Ryann Howard
Major: Forestry – Restoration - Dillon Martin
Major: Forestry – Restoration - Cameron Miller
Major: Forestry - Caleb Van Rossum
Major: Forestry – Hydrology
Rare Plants Apprentices:
- Caitlyn Allchin
Major: Botany - Macy Budesilich
Major: Botany - Skylr Lopez
Major: Wildlife Biology - Julia Martinez
Major: Botany
Exotics Management Apprentices:
- Judson Fisher
Major: Forestry - Christopher Villarruel
Major: Forestry – Hydrology
- Christopher Collier
Major: Wildlife Biology – Conservation Biology/Applied Vertebrate Ecology - Ryan Thompson
Major: Wildlife Biology
Watershed Rehabilitation Apprentices:
- Anton Bokisch
Major: Environmental Science & Management and Ecological Restoration - Steven Hopper
Major: Environmental Resources Engineering - Haley Isaacson
Major: Environmental Resources Engineering - Samantha Bowman Pincus
Major: Forestry – Wildland Fire Management
Hydrology Apprentices:
- Brett Crandall
Major: Forestry – Hydrology - Sarah McGee
Major: Forestry – Soils
For more information about Redwoods Rising and the apprentice program or to schedule an interview, contact Jennifer Benito-Kowalski at (415) 820-5814 or [email protected].
To access hi-res images, please visit our newsroom.
Redwoods Rising is a collaboration between Save the Redwoods League, the National Park Service, and California State Parks. It will greatly accelerate the pace of redwood forest recovery within Redwood National and State Parks (RNSP) and help protect the area’s remaining old-growth groves. RNSP is made up of four parks, Redwood National Park, Prairie Creek, Jedediah Smith, and Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Parks, which are cooperatively managed by California State Parks and the National Park Service. Learn more at RedwoodsRising.org.
Tags: 2019, apprentice program, apprentices, california state parks, HSU, Humboldt State University, National Park Service, NPS, Press Release, Redwood National and State Parks, Redwood National Park, Redwoods Rising, Restoration, restore
One Response to “Redwoods Rising Student Apprentices Help Restore Redwood National and State Parks”
Valerie Markin
Hello! I attended the Redwoods Rising Zoom information meeting about the 2021 internship/apprenticeship program. Please send an application form for the Hydrology internship–I am SOOO interested. I am studying Forestry & Natural Resources at College of the Redwoods in Eureka, CA and have previous coursework in hydrology. Online we met Laura Lalemand, Lucy Kerhoulas, and Erin Kelly, along with previous and potential interns.
Thank you!