Postcards from the Field: Emi Cronin

Shell Conservation Intern Emi Cronin

Greetings from the Rocky Mountain Trench!

Already my summer's halfway over – unbelievable how much has happened since I began this internship. My work with the Nature Conservancy of Canada has me focusing on Grassland Ecosystems here in the East Kootenays, of which less than 1.2% are protected in British Columbia. I have had the chance to watch the fields change colour with the months of spring – from the brilliant yellow of the Balsamroots in mid-May, to the purple-dominated fields of June that bring Lupine, Mariposa Lily, and various native daisies. The diversity of flowers and grass species on what appear at a distance as uniform slopes is truly spectacular. NCC is working with ranchers here in the Trench to help steward this diversity into the future, and it's been exciting to watch these partnerships form and to play a small part!

Pine Butte Ranch, set against the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains

My NCC internship experience has been overwhelmingly diverse. Between assisting with surveys for endangered plant species, completing the ecosystem assessment work that forms the majority of my fieldtime, and attending a celebration of the achievements of conservation groups in the East Kootenays, I have had a truly remarkable chance to experience conservation on the ground in an area I have known my entire life.

It's a great way to bring my B.Sc. in Geography and Environmental Studies from the University of Victoria back to bear on my home range! For rest of the summer I'm looking forward to expanding my activities and my geography, by completing surveys of human use at conservation sites in the Elk Valley and in the Rocky Mountain Trench in an effort to understand the value that these places hold for people.

Excited for what the rest of the summer will bring....

All the best,
Emi Cronin

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