On Monday, February 6, hundreds of Portland-area scientists gathered for the Urban Ecosystem Research Consortium (UERC), an annual conference with speakers and posters on local ecology. JCWC staff were in attendance, and two of our interns made excellent contributions this year!
Adam Nayak, Stormwater Outreach Intern, gave a dynamic talk on his own stormwater infrastructure research. That research goes back five years, which is phenomenal considering that Adam is a high school junior! Through independent study and internships, Adam has been diligently researching the relationship between urban infrastructure and water quality, using sophisticated mapping tools to map correlations and priority conservation areas. Conference attendees were very inspired by Adam and his talk, giving enthusiastic applause and gushing about him to JCWC staff throughout the day. Here at JCWC, Adam is applying his knowledge by developing outreach materials and strategies for how we might work with businesses, schools, and churches on their stormwater management. We are so proud to work with him. Way to go, Adam!
Meanwhile, Kayla Tomlin, Community Science Data Specialist, presented a beautiful and informative poster on our community science dragonfly surveys. She based the poster–found here–on a detailed report by Celeste Searles Mazzacano of CASM Environmental, the scientific advisor for the surveys. The poster highlights scientific and volunteer successes, such as documenting two new Multnomah County dragonfly species and tracking abundance and diversity of dragonflies at Westmoreland and Brookside Parks. During the poster session, Kayla fielded many questions about survey logistics, especially from other scientists interesting in surveys of their own. Next on Kayla’s agenda is creating Dragonfly Science and Beaver Science pages on our website. As a GIS Certificate student at PSU, her advanced mapping and science skills are invaluable to us. Thank you, Kayla!