Postcards from the Field: Erin Rechsteiner

Shell Conservation Intern Erin Rechsteiner

Working as a Shell Conservation Intern with NCC this summer has been a lot of fun so far! I’ve traveled all over Vancouver Island doing fieldwork to monitor the ecological integrity of various plant communities. During my first week, I went to a Garry Oak Preserve near Cowichan Bay. The day’s work was spent photographing various sites in a meadow laced with colourful wildflowers and butterflies. I met a lot of experts in different realms of biology, and learned about some rare butterflies and the Garry Oak ecosystem.

This summer job has also taken me to the North Island to visit estuaries and an endangered Cedar/Salmonberry forest, and over to the Northern Gulf Islands to monitor old growth forests which were previously threatened by logging.

Wetland at Baikie Island Reserve, Campbell River, BC; Photo by Tim Ennis

When I am not busy bushwhacking through old growth forest, I find myself working in the office, compiling reports about my findings – even attending the Canadian Environment Awards gala in Vancouver where I met some of the most progressive environmentalists in Canada.

This job is giving me lots of new ideas about where I want to go when university is over. Once I graduate with a BSc in Geography and Biology, I hope to get involved in more conservation work – perhaps tracking Kermode bears on Princess Royal Island or following wolves through the Canadian Rockies. Who knows what new work opportunities will come my way, but one thing is certain: getting a chance to do this fieldwork with NCC will be a huge asset to finding exciting employment once school is through.

Erin Rechsteiner, Victoria Office. June 12, 2006

More 2006 British Columbia postcards>>