My college capstone project

Checking back in to share the final days of college!

Hi all! I obviously haven’t been using this platform much recently, but I wanted to hop on to share my senior capstone project.

The Skagit at sunrise

I spent my final year a Fairhaven College in Western Washington University thinking, reading, and writing about and visiting, exploring, and playing on the Skagit River. This is the river I worked on when I first moved to Washington in 2021, the river I learned to kayak on the following spring, and one that has continued to hold my interest over the years. It’s a transboundary river, meaning that it runs across an international border. The Skagit begins on a mountain pass in British Columbia, Canada and winds its way across the border, through several hydroelectric projects, and is leveed and channelized until it meets the salty water of the Salish Sea near the town of Mount Vernon, Washington.

I spent my winter quarter writing a research paper about the transboundary agreements between the United States and Canada on the management of this river and also the work of several Indigenous Nations to steward and advocate for it. Here is a link to that essay:

In the spring, inspired by the research I had done the previous quarter, I set out to see where the river comes from and where it goes. I also learned basic mapping skills on the ArcGIS software to build a “storymap” of this watershed. I completed two trips – one short backpacking trip in Canada to see where the Skagit is born, and one 3-day kayak trip from the last powerhouse to the sea. The map combines some stories and reflections from these trips with the research from winter quarter into what I hope is a more engaging and interesting format (it is still quite dense!). I’d love to hear your thoughts if you check it out:

And finally, I got to present my project to a group of friends, family, and community members last week as a culmination of my work. It was so special to share! Here is the recording of the presentation if you’re interested:

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Since graduation I’ve started an internship at the Setting Sun Institute, an organization that combines climate justice and Indigenous sovereignty. I’m stoked to be working with them and getting a glimpse into the amazing work they do! Here’s their website:

I’ve also been picking up some habitat restoration work and will be heading down to California soon to work with Ríos to Rivers – the group I spent time with in Chile – on the Klamath River celebrating the removal of the dams. All this before heading back down to Peru in August to be a part of a river conservation program! I’m feeling so excited and grateful about what’s behind and ahead of me. Thank you all for being a part of it! <3