For the Love of Wild Things
Introducing our August 2024 Volunteers of the Month!
We are fortunate for the opportunity to work with students in the University of Utah’s Science Research Initiative (SRI) program through their involvement in Dr. Austin Green’s Human/Wildlife Coexistence lab and the Wildlife Watch program. These students work tirelessly in the lab and in the field to make a difference for Utah’s wildlife.
University of Utah SRI survey team at Kennecott Outfall during the Fall 2024 shorebird surveys.
For Gaby Karakcheyeva, Kaylee Meyers, and Sarah Miller, however, the desire to get involve didn’t stop there. In addition to spending countless hours analyzing data, presenting Wildlife Watch data, and setting up trail cameras, these students went on to join us for several of our other community science projects! From diving into Utah’s streams to build beaver dam analogs to trekking across the south shores of Great Salt Lake to count shorebirds, we are impressed with the lengths these students went to make a positive impact for wildlife and lands.
Get to know our August Volunteers of the Month in our interview below!
What is your background in? Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Gaby: I'm a 3rd year undergraduate student at the University of Utah studying biology and earth and environmental science and getting a minor in human rights and resources. I've been involved in a couple of different labs across campus and hope to work in ecology research after I graduate.
Kaylee: I'm a junior at the University of Utah and I'm studying biochemistry, and I've been doing ecology research since my first year. I love pretty much everything related to chemistry and ecology, but I have a special place in my heart for insects and theoretical chemistry.
Sarah: I am majoring in Animal Science with a minor in Natural Science at BYU Idaho. I grew up on a small farm raising animals and loved it. I love rock climbing, paddle boarding, and being outside.
What has been your experience participating in the UofU Human/Wildlife Coexistence Stream this summer?
G: I've loved working with the Human/Wildlife Coexistence Stream this summer! I worked field days when I was available and loved getting to help set up trail cameras to learn more about wildlife in the Wasatch front!
Kaylee and fellow Wildlife Watch participants setting up a trail camera in Red Butte Canyon.
K: I've been working with Dr. Green for a while in his Human/Wildlife Coexistence Stream, and I really fell in love with the amount of data we're able to collect on various ecosystems without intrusively affecting animal behavior. It's really cool to be able to provide legislators and government offices with crucial information about where infrastructure can be improved, especially because it often gets used. It's been an amazing experience working with Dr. Green and I'm considering pursuing a graduate degree working on a camera trapping project because of it!
S: I love it. I think it is a very unique experience to be able to hike into the canyons and see what wildlife passes through different areas. I love seeing what animals are living in the area by checking the camera footage and knowing that wildlife is living well in their natural habitat.
What originally drew you to Sageland Collaborative? How long have you been a volunteer?
G: I was originally interested in Sageland’s projects because I wanted to learn more about wildlife with Wildlife Watch. I joined Austin's lab a year ago and wanted to learn more about how humans alter wildlife behavior and also liked that there was a lot of fieldwork and cute pictures of animals involved.
K: I love all the opportunities Sageland Collaborative has for volunteering, because getting your hands and feet dirty is what really helps you fall in love with the ecosystems we're fighting to conserve. I really believe that step is important if we want to protect our natural environments.
S: Originally, my passion for animals and my interest in working with wildlife as a possible career drew me to Sageland Collaborative. I’ve been considering a career involved with wildlife and Sageland has offered unique experiences to help me see what a career in wildlife might look like. I have been volunteering for about 2 months.
University of Utah SRI students posing with partners from Sageland Collaborative, Trout Unlimited, and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources after a day of restoring beaver dam analogs (BDAs) in Toll Canyon.
What do you love most about volunteering? What keeps you coming back?
G: I love learning!! I love learning about everything we do in the lab, and also I love learning every time I volunteer on other Sageland projects like building beaver dam analogs or doing shorebird surveys. I always learn something new, and get to spend some time outside with some cool folks!
S: I love seeing the wildlife on the cameras and being a part of something bigger.
Do you have a favorite story you'd like to share from volunteering on these projects?
G: When I was doing shorebird surveys, I got overly confident and stepped into deep mud without realizing and I have some silly pictures of me stuck. It was really funny to see it happen.
S: I really liked one field day in Red Butte Canyon and seeing camera footage of a mother cougar with two cubs. It was really cool to see the turkeys in Red Butte grow from little chicks to older turkeys on the camera too.
How do you feel about wildlife and places in the West?
G: Wildlife in the West is spectacular. One of the main reasons why I moved to Utah was for wildlife and I absolutely love how much diversity we have and how many different habitats you can find out West.
S: Nature is a big part of us and it would be awful to have it all be lost to civilization. I feel that it should be preserved and protected.
What are your thoughts on conservation in the West? Why is it important to you?
UofU SRI survey team scanning the salty southern shore of Great Salt Lake for shorebirds.
G: The West is such a gem. This nature is spectacular and should be preserved, as it hosts such an abundance of life. Being outside and in the natural world learning about wildlife is something I’m really passionate about and it brings me a lot of joy to help preserve species we love and hold dear to our hearts.
K: We all have a lot to learn from communities and cultures outside our own, especially where active restoration is concerned, we have an additional responsibility to seek out different viewpoints. I think it can feel a bit silly to us to view the land we live on and the air we breathe as inseparable to our spirituality and life itself, but it's hard to conserve land that we inherently see as a commodity. Open-mindedness to cultural practices that seem foreign to us can go such a long way in the practice of ecology, landscape restoration, and community relationships with our environment.
S: It is our responsibility to take care of the Earth. The Earth takes care of us and we should also take care of the Earth and the wildlife that are in need of extra care and conservation.
What would you say to others thinking of volunteering?
Sageland's Summer 2024 Riverscape Intern, Danielle Terry, poses with Gaby, Kaylee, and a volunteer at a Riverscape Restoration volunteer day.
G: Do it!! Just try one day of something you’re interested in learning more about.
K: I really encourage anyone who's interested to seek out volunteer opportunities! It's really cool to meet people with amazing knowledge and interests, and every time you go out you'll learn things you never would have thought about otherwise. And, especially for our lab, getting to see photos of all the little critters isn't half bad either.
S: Do it! It's a great opportunity to learn more about wildlife and nature and gain greater appreciation for the world that you live in.
Where can our community learn more about you? (website, socials, etc. if desired)
G: I love photographing wildlife! Keep up with it by following @gabyclairee on instagram. I also run the university of Utah Wildlife Society club and you can follow along with that at @uofuwildlife on Instagram.
Thank you to our August Volunteers of the Month and all of the students we work with in the Science Research Initiative program who make positive outcomes for Utah’s wildlife possible.
You can learn more about the University of Utah’s SRI program here, and find our how you can get involved in our volunteer community science projects here.
Article by Sierra Hastings
Photos shared by Gaby Karakcheyeva, Kaylee Meyers, and Sarah Miller.