Working with the Oregon Coastal and Ocean Information Network (OCOIN) has provided me the unique opportunity of seeing the intersection of science and policy. OCOIN was established to facilitate collaboration between researchers and policymakers. When I first started with OCOIN, I primarily imagined OCOIN as an organization that makes research more available to policymakers. While this is a significant part of OCOIN, I also have begun to see OCOIN as the entity that can provide policymakers the opportunity to connect with researchers about future research needs. This collaborative relationship is imperative for the health of our coasts. 

The lesson that stands out the most so far in my learnings with OCOIN is that this type of collaboration takes time. I had initially thought that the goals I had for my internship would be easier to accomplish. However, like any relationship, you must invest time and energy to create a lasting connection. This is a beautiful thing; the steering committee at OCOIN comprises individuals from various organizations throughout Oregon. While each person works for a different organization, they have a familiarity with each other, making it seem as though they work side-by-side. It is this healthy network of organizations that has been most inspiring for me throughout my internship. After college, I look forward to working for an organization that networks with others in the field. 

One of the agencies that has stood out to me the most is Oregon’s Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD). A couple of people from the OCIOIN steering committee work for DLCD, and they have been very helpful during my onboarding process. They have provided professional development opportunities such as ArcGIS trainings and an invite to a DLCD coastal staff meeting. Each person in the coastal staff meeting was very welcoming and introduced themselves to the other OCOIN intern and me. I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to learn about so many various roles within an organization. The meeting left me excited to finish my degree and start working for an organization that helps drive change in Oregon.   

I am now wrapping up week six with Eat Oregon Seafood. Over the past two weeks, I met with various commission groups from the Oregon groundfish commission to the Oregon Department of Agriculture. Through these meetings, I was able to paint a clearer picture of how to use social media to engage communities. I also learned more about topics within the seafood industry that are more likely to create controversy on social media platforms. All of this information helped me further my social media campaigns! 

Social media platforms are a great way to share science in a digestible format, however, sharing to such a large audience does come with some challenges. Because social media audiences can be so expansive, you have to be more intentional about posts. Instead of catering to one population, as I have done in the past when working with academia, you have to cater to all the populations your posts could possibly reach. Speaking of social media… I was able to post my first videos to the new Eat Oregon Seafood youtube channel this week! Check them out here to learn all about seafood in Oregon.

In addition to learning more about public outreach to broader audiences, my views about policy work have changed as well. I have learned that a large part of policy work is networking. In order to make science education work, you need to reach a broad audience. AND in order to reach a broad audience, you need connections. Before this summer, I never realized how much other platforms sharing and spreading your information matters. In retrospect it makes total sense – you need to put effort into both creating science education material and spreading that material. If you do one without the other your message will be lost. 

I am really enjoying seeing a different side of science this summer. My previous experiences have been mostly fieldwork and lab work-related. During grad school, I plan on sticking to field and lab work during my “job job”. However, in my free time, I plan on continuing to promote science education to a broader audience by posting science and culture education videos on a personal vlog. If you’re interested in learning about Guam, what it means to be in graduate school or coral genetics then you can check out that vlog here!

One last update: I started interviews for the “Oregon Seafood Journey” social media campaign. It is great being able to meet industry leaders across the coast and hear the stories of the coastal community. Here is a photo of oyster tanks from my first interview at Pacifica Seafoods in Corvallis!

Thanks for tuning in and I look forward to sharing weeks seven and eight with you during my next post!

Now that you’ve been on the job for several weeks, how has your view of science policy changed (if at all)?  

The boring (but truthful) answer is that my view of science policy has not changed. Given that I worked as a Summer Scholar last year, my knowledge for how the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) and state-run reserve systems has not really increased. Last summer, understanding how NERRS worked was one of my primary goals.

Do you have a better understanding of how policy organizations work?  

Again, I wouldn’t say my understanding has become better because of how much I had already learned last summer. However, being around members of an organization governed by multiple levels of the government helps keep what I learned last summer fresh in my mind. 

Have you had a chance to attend any agency-level meetings?  

Last year I had the chance to attend education team meetings, full South Slough staff meetings, and a NERRS meeting. This year, so far, I have only participated in education team meetings (as those are the ones I can contribute meaningfully in). 

Discuss any tradeoffs you see in your organization between serving the public good and being able to respond nimbly.  

I don’t believe that serving the public good and being able to respond nimbly to different issues are mutually exclusive practices. In some cases they could be, but I believe the trade offs that would occur are very situation-specific. 

On wilderness reserves, there tends to be somewhat of a dilemma between protecting the natural environment and allowing people to enjoy it. In almost all circumstances, the more human traffic there is in an area, the worse off the environment will be. Of course, for a place like the South Slough, there can be a proper balance… but at what point are there too many people walking the trails? At what point is the natural environment being altered in a negative way by human activity? 

Fortunately, too many visitors has not been a significant problem at the South Slough (that I am aware of), but if it became an issue, decisions would have to be made about limiting the number of visitors. In such a circumstance, I could see where serving the public good (allowing more people to experience a beautiful natural setting) and being able to act nimbly (responding quickly to negative environmental changes) could come to a clash. Though, one could also argue that taking the necessary precautions to protect the reserve by limiting visitors would still be serving the public good by preserving the reserve’s beauty for future visitors. Under this belief, serving the public good and being able to act nimbly are complementary actions, rather than opposing.

Do you have a better understanding of how science policy operates in the state of Oregon?  

My understanding of science policy has not changed all that much since last summer. Last summer is really when I went from not knowing much at all to feeling that I had a pretty decent grasp on the basics of science policy in Oregon. 

Does your agency have ties to other states, and/or to national-level organizations?  

Yes, the South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve (SSNERR) is tied to the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS). Fun fact: the South Slough was the very first NERR and was designated as so in 1974. Now there are a total of 29 NERRs across the country.  

Are you inspired to continue with this line of work into the future?

Absolutely — I am very interested in pursuing lines of work that allow me to work with management of reserve systems and public outreach in the future. I think that getting people excited about the beauty that nature has to offer and protecting wild places work hand-in-hand. Through both informing management decisions with science and teaching future generations how to protect and enjoy the wilderness, I believe that beautiful natural areas can be conserved and restored.

Thanks!

At the start of my internship I thought I would be mostly completing what I’ll call techy/computery tasks (GIS, database management, etc.) for the Oregon Coastal and Ocean Information Network’s (OCOIN’s) Coastal Research Explorer tool. However, my daily work walks the line between science and policy more than I imagined. 

Our main goal at OCOIN is to facilitate the exchange of novel research happening in Oregon through a Coastal Research Explorer tool, both for the benefit of researchers in the ocean science realm but also to make research more accessible for policymakers. In other words, the Coastal Research Explorer is really a science communication device. I’ve come to understand, over my last 6 weeks at OCOIN, that science communication is an essential bridge between scientific discoveries made by researchers and the creation of science-based management and policy. Prioritizing effective communication and easy user experience have guided many updates to the Coastal Research Explorer this summer, including the creation of new legends for our mapping tool and the inclusion of links to journal articles for each research project. 

In addition to discussions of effective science communication surrounding our own webmapping tool, I also had the opportunity to learn more about the inner workings and implementation of coastal policy at a meeting with the Ocean and Coastal Services team from Oregon’s Department of Land Conservation and Development. It was intriguing to learn more about web-mapping tools, similar to OCOIN’s Coastal Research Explorer, that are created and operated by DLCD to educate the public on management areas like the Rocky Habitat Web Mapping Tool. Webmaps can be an effective research sharing device (like OCOIN’s Coastal Research Explorer) but can be just as user friendly for the end of the policy-making process, informing the public!

Science policy has always appeared to me as something done solely at the federal level. While I knew this assumption wasn’t entirely correct, I always found myself imagining people in DC tackling topics concerning the public good and ethics of science. My Haystack Rock Awareness Program internship has allowed me to see the different levels and sides that play into science policy. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting with an Oregon Fish and Wildlife employee and was able to pick their brain about the different career options within government jobs and their role in the policy. Based on my interactions with the general public and those working under organizations, I have come to notice that for the most part, the people that are most involved and interested in nature and its well being, tend to be the ones that have some sort of understanding of science policy and how it affects what they love. 

HRAP provided me with a deeper understanding of how local organizations can help uphold the policies put in place to protect nature. The staff works graciously with the tourists and locals that come to the beach and do their best to educate them on not only the ecology at the rock but also on why and how this marine garden became a marine protected area. In my opinion, this form of enforcement has been incredibly beneficial for the beach and for the onlookers. I’ve also come to realize how hard it can be to enforce laws targeted towards marine conservation and preservation because of the general lack of understanding behind why conservation and preservation are so important. I’ve come across people who think that the rock’s protection isn’t important and that they should be allowed to climb it. On the other hand,  I’ve also come across people that have a deep understanding of how the ecology of the rock has changed over the years and have come to care for its preservation and appreciate the work done by HRAP. 

As I dive deeper into my project, the more I learn about the importance of science communication and how it can help with the communication gaps between scientists, the general public, and policymakers among many others. The general public involvement in the scientific research happening in their communities or around what affects their communities is something that I believe they are entitled to, and in this regard should be more accessible for individuals that have not been scientifically trained. For me, facilitating the dialogue and providing the public with accessible language to science is something that I see myself doing whether I’m doing the research myself or I find myself in a science communication role.

Hello Folks, 

I hope everyone is doing well. The past two weeks have been interesting. My perspective of science policy has changed a bit. At first, I was uninterested in the topic and my lack of interest in science policy has grown. I was under the impression that I wanted to pursue a career in science policy. This internship has introduced me to the ins and outs of science policy. I am not as interested as I thought I was. Additionally, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) has provided me the opportunity to learn more about policy. Like I mentioned before, it is my forte. I have learned enough to understand it Is not my favorite. Therefore, I do not think I could continue with this line of work. I would like to work with the public, but that would consist of outreach and interpretative work. I wish to stay away from policy. I would like to add that through this experience, I learned how hard working with the public can be. Like my intern-friend, Jessica, I will never turn down a survey. I understand the struggles of speaking to strangers and asking to fill out a survey. This can be difficult; however, I will try to fill out any survey I encounter. Lastly, I have had the opportunity to travel to Cape Falcon. This is another marine reserve location, and one of the furthest. It is two hours away from Newport. I have been enjoying the view and the people have been nice. I hope all the interns continue to excel and finish off the internship strong!