As expected, remote work has had its ups and downs so far, but in all has been a positive growth experience. I have to be honest though, having started both of my internships just last week, it took me a minute to find my balance. This was less about the heavy workload and more about figuring out what schedule worked best for me, as I was now free to manage my own time. I’ve been learning a lot about my own decision-making processes through this COVID experience. In other words, I’ve learned that I do not need to re-pot more house plants every time I’m stressed.

My time at Surfrider has been a blast so far. This past week I was busy becoming familiar with each state’s coastlines, all online of course, but it was very interesting to see the coastal dynamics change as I traced my way around the country. I found myself in many rabbit holes trying to understand different coastal environments and the mitigation measures each state had taken so far to protect them. My supervisor, Stefanie, has been great and has only added to this curiosity. As of now, I will be starting to analyze the gaps that each state has in their mitigation measures for protecting their coastlines. It feels empowering to know that I can be relied upon to translate these findings.

With Wildcoast, I’ve started my time by listening in on coalition meetings and organizing my thoughts to initiate the literature review for Wildcoast’s and San Diego County’s Blue Carbon Program. From here, my supervisor and I will start organizing potential sample sites around the county to analyze how much carbon is being sequestered, and how much could be sequestered. Our hope is that by the end of next month, or early August, we will be able to aid Scipps researchers in obtaining samples.

Because my internships this summer are in Southern California, and my time in Monterey is done, I will actually be migrating down south soon to complete these positions. I look forward to reporting back to everyone from sunny Southern California.