Summer Research Program

Description of the Program

The GHC Summer Research Program provided paid scientific assistantships, along with bringing together the community and organizations with an interest in the health of our local tributaries.

summer research student presenting his topic to a group of interested community members

Assistantship

Each research opportunity was specifically related to the health of the Chehalis River Basin tributaries. Every participant was mentored by an expert from the field that has been matched as closely as possible to their interests. Research Assistants spent 6-8 weeks working on a project designed and coordinated by their mentor, and presented their results during a scientific poster session during the last week.

Research Methods Course

Once weekly, participants in the Summer Research Program met for two hours to review scientific literature, and work on creating their own scientific poster. This non-credit course was specifically designed to provide additional mentorship for the participants in the area of "How to Intern." Every participant was guided through the process to ensure success in this research program, along with all future scientific internships.

Poster Presentation Session

At the end of the eight week assistantship, participants guided through their research project and created a scientific poster. A poster session was held at GHC as a community events, including a guest speaker from a local organization. This event provided the community attendees with the opportunity to learn more about our watershed, while the Research Assistants gained valuable presentation skills. Participants were encouraged to submit their poster abstracts to the University of Washington Undergraduate Research Symposium following this experience.