USU researcher, staffer receive National Parks award
Last Thursday Emily Yost and Ben Baldwin received the National Park Service’s 2008 Rocky Mountains Cooperative Ecosystems Studies Unit Project Award in Estes Park, Colo.
The award was given for Yost and Baldwin’s project, Improving Science Communication for Multiple Parks and Networks: Summer 2006 through Summer 2008. Yost, a USU research technician currently stationed at the Greater Yellowstone Science Learning Center, has worked with Baldwin, the Tehabi Internship Program coordinator, since her first internship at Bighorn Canyon in the summer of 2006.
Baldwin said the CESU award can be given annually but is only awarded after personal nomination.
“Our case was a little different than usual because we were nominated for a whole suite of projects. Emily was nominated on the student level and when it went to the project level it included me as her mentor,” he said.
Baldwin said he and Yost have carved out a customized position filling the needs of various national parks and historic sites, reviewing and compiling land use information. Since 2006, they have facilitated six agreements through RM-CESU, authored four Web sites, created more than 117 communication products which have benefited 11 parks and secured more than $50,000 of funding, he said.
Over the past few decades the Parks Service has cut back on editorial and communication positions, Baldwin said.
“These used to be full-time positions but there’s not enough work at any one park to keep anyone busy,” he said.
That’s where Yost enters the picture, she said. She reads USGS reports, master’s dissertations and research papers about the park she’s working in and prepares Web sites, pamphlets and research summaries, she said.
“If we can’t make the science relevant and accessible to land managers then they’ll have a harder time making science based choices. My job is making science results accessible to the public and parks managers,” Yost said.
Yost said she spent the majority of her schooling at the University of Pittsburgh where she created her own major combining contemporary culture, creative communication and natural resources environmental studies. Paired up with Baldwin, she secured funding through numerous sources to pay her wage and publish the information, she said.
“It was small money, and small things lead to big things,” Baldwin said.
Yost agreed.
“What was really important about that internship was that it was mentored,” she said.
At the end of her first summer internship, Yost presented her findings to regional land managers, she said.
“The first question I got after my presentation was, ‘Do you want a job next summer?'” she said.
She was hired at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, then at Yellowstone where she expanded her work synthesizing and presenting scientific findings from numerous parks simultaneously. In less than two years, Yost said she created a new position and went from being a temporary intern to a full-time, full-benefits employee. Baldwin said this was another great example of the endless possibilities education brings.
“This reinforces my belief that there’s a place for every student, no matter how unique their interests,” Baldwin said. “There are opportunities out there. All it requires is a proactive student.”
Yost said while she enjoys what she is doing and the opportunities she has, it’s a balancing act.
“It’s a little scary sometimes. I’m working for multiple partners and it can be tricky balancing priorities,” Yost said. “It’s hugely energizing but it can also be draining at the same time. As long as you recognize that there is that potential you can maintain a balance. I actually like working on multiple projects. And, oh yeah, I like living in cool places.”
Baldwin agreed.
Yost’s success, though, meant more to him than just an award, he said.
“For me it was really reflective of what Tehabi was about. Emily was an intern and now she’s a colleague,” Baldwin said. “She’s managing a high level of chaos only a couple of years out of undergrad.”
Yost said she recommended passion and an internship in whatever field students choose.
She said,”Find something that you like, get good at it and seek out the advice of others. Practical experience is important so I’d suggest doing an internship.”
For more information about the Tehabi Internship Program e-mail Baldwin at ben.baldwin@usu.edu.
–ben.abbott@aggiemail.usu.edu