Celebrating our largest intern cohort yet: summer 2026

This summer, CoSEE supported its largest intern cohort to date, with 22 interns contributing to projects across environmental restoration, GIS mapping, environmental education, communications, and community partnerships.

The season also marked the launch of CoSEE’s GIS pathway, creating new opportunities for students to develop skills in mapping, data collection, and ecological restoration planning.

Together, interns expanded the Adaptive Library, supported restoration projects at local parks, mapped invasive species and community assets, created educational resources, and strengthened CoSEE’s outreach efforts. Here’s a look at what they accomplished.

Social Media & Communications

The Social Media and Communications team helped tell CoSEE’s story through blogs, newsletters, graphics, video content, and brand development.

JayJay created event graphics, scheduled social media content, contributed to newsletters and blogs, and helped organize data and analytics that will guide future communications efforts.

Miles focused on blog writing, highlighting key projects and events throughout the summer. He conducted interviews with interns and CoSEE Director Dr. Veronica Cassone McGowan to bring additional voices and perspectives into CoSEE’s storytelling.

Alice expanded CoSEE’s video content across multiple platforms, including TikTok. Her work included demonstrations of 3D-printed assistive technology and a new series featuring day-in-the-life perspectives from interns.

Arnav developed brand resources and content templates that future interns can use to maintain a consistent visual identity across CoSEE’s communications channels.

Native Plant Conservation

Interns in the Native Plant Conservation program supported ongoing stewardship of the Native Plant Garden while launching new projects focused on education, restoration, and long-term planning.

Ruth served as Native Plant Garden team lead, mentoring newer interns while continuing work she began more than a year ago. She monitored plant health, focused on pollinator habitat management, developed a fall planting plan, and secured grant funding to support continued garden work.

“I feel so lucky to have experienced the garden through all four seasons of the year,” Ruth said. “It’s helped me see the technical things we talk about in my classes in real time, like plant identification and ecological relationships.”

Nic led early work on restoring the patio planters outside the Environmental Education and Research Center while helping develop a place-based garden field guide alongside Maryam.

Maryam supported garden maintenance, helped map plant locations throughout the garden, and developed educational signage for the garden’s rain barrels.

Max designed a new process for tracking plant health and maintenance data. He also collaborated on creating an interactive garden map that will help visitors learn more about individual plant species.

Invasive Species & Restoration

This team supported restoration efforts across multiple parks by organizing events, mapping invasive species, and coordinating volunteer engagement.

Savannah led restoration events in partnership with Friends of Lake Sammamish State Park, helped supervise CoSEE’s three-week EnCAP program, and served as a team lead for restoration interns. She also supported outreach efforts, data management, and CoSEE’s assistive technology program. Her work helped launch a new series of monthly restoration events co-hosted with State Parks and Friends of Saint Edward State Park.

“I was inspired by the high school students in the EnCAP program I supervised this summer,” Savannah said. “Their passion and enthusiasm for environmental work was heartening to see.”

As part of her capstone project, Sarah organized and led three restoration events while advancing an ongoing invasive-species flagging initiative. Working with GIS intern Junki, she helped track English holly and cherry laurel populations before and after restoration efforts.

“I learned that sometimes the best way to find your path is to get out there and try something new,” Sarah said.

Daniel focused on invasive species removal projects, including restoration work at sites experiencing significant Himalayan blackberry regrowth.

Mapping & GIS

CoSEE’s GIS interns transformed field observations into maps and datasets that support future restoration efforts, community planning, and partner projects.

Yulia and Una partnered with Friends of Lake Sammamish State Park to create an invasive-species map that will help guide restoration efforts throughout the park.

“It’s kind of emotional looking at the final map because I remember actually walking those trails, stopping to collect each point, dealing with trails being closed, and trying to figure things out when something didn’t work,” Una said. “Now all of those little moments are part of one finished map.”

Kheira and Tiana mapped key invasive species throughout Saint Edward State Park’s trail network, providing partners with detailed information about restoration priorities.

Dan worked with Dr. Santiago Lopez to collect and visualize environmental sensor data from Saint Edward State Park. He also partnered with Oliver and the City of Kenmore on updates to the city’s tree inventory database.

Oliver helped document missing information for hundreds of trees in Kenmore, including species identification, health conditions, and photos. The updated data now contributes to a public tree inventory that supports urban forestry planning and stewardship efforts.

Junki created pre- and post-restoration maps that helped visualize the impact of monthly restoration events at Saint Edward State Park.

Inclusive Environmental Education

The Inclusive Environmental Education team worked to make environmental learning experiences more accessible while supporting community programs and outreach activities.

Through her capstone project, Olivia organized and analyzed Adaptive Library data and will continue adapting books for the program this fall.

Ramneek co-led community events focused on environmental topics and adapted Iggy Peck, Architect to accompany her Engineering with Nature: Boat Building program.

Cassandra adapted four books, completed several unfinished projects, and developed activities to accompany each title. She also proposed a new Wildflower Kit and helped create a more streamlined process for future book adaptations.

“Broaden your vision, go outside your comfort zone and try things that you would not normally do,” Cassandra said. “You never know where a simple action may lead you.”

Community partnerships

Some CoSEE projects extend beyond park stewardship and environmental education.

Ash continued a multi-year partnership with Dr. David Stokes focused on camera-trap research and wildlife connectivity. They also led a Wildlife in Your Neighborhood event that shared research findings with community members while encouraging people to explore and learn about local wildlife.

Looking ahead

CoSEE begins the 2026-27 academic year having supported its largest intern cohort yet and expanded opportunities across a wide range of project areas. Building on that momentum, the program plans to continue growing while creating new pathways for students to gain hands-on experience in environmental research, restoration, education, communications, and community engagement.