Congratulations to SMEA student Ashley Bagley, whose poster on temperature variation and salmon abundance in Stillaguamish River floodplains won first place in the student poster competition at the Restoring Resilient Communities in Changing Landscapes Conference. The conference, hosted by the Society for Ecological Restoration and the Society of Wetland Scientists, brought together scientists, practitioners and decision makers to share knowledge about the ways in which ecological restoration can build resilience of ecological and human communities in changing landscapes. 

By Kaitlin Lebon
Graduate school is challenging. While some students enter SMEA fully prepared with a preconceived thesis project, others can be stumped. Funding, or lack thereof, is a reality for some incoming SMEA students and can influence a student’s approach to thesis or capstone work. For those students, it can be difficult to know where to start looking for ideas or connections. 

Alumna Breena Apgar-Kurtz graduated from the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs in 2012 and is now a Fishery Management Biologist for the Lummi Nation. We had a chance to catch up with Breena and hear about her job, her time at SMEA, and advice she has for current SMEA students.
Can you give us a brief description of what you do? 

SMEA Professor and Associate Director Nives Dolšak, UW Director of the Center for Environmental Politics Aseem Prakash and Associate Professor of Political Science, University at Albany, State University of New York Brian Greenhill recently wrote an article featured on The Conversation titled, “Don’t be afraid to talk about the costs of dealing with climate change.” The piece draws on a recently published article in the journal Environmental Communication and reports on a survey experiment showing that communicating the need for adaptation may actually increase support for mitigation. 

Why did you decide to pursue a Master of Marine Affairs?
I came from a more traditional marine biology background, and used to be quite happy just studying fishes. After a while, I realized that all of the environmental issues I was really concerned with had to do with people. I realized that I needed more training in social sciences and policy in addition to my existing biology skills. 

SMEA Professor and Associate Director Nives Dolšak and UW Director of the Center for Environmental Politics Aseem Prakash recently wrote an article featured on The Regulatory Review titled, “A Green Economy Must Achieve Climate Justice.” The article discusses environmental policy and how “somebody, somewhere has to pay for climate protection.” Often it is the underprivileged that suffers the brunt of climate neglect. 

By Sam Farquhar and Priscilla Rivas
If you had told us ten months ago that we would be writing this from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) headquarters, I don’t think we would have believed you. Our first year at SMEA was a whirlwind of homework, research, jobs, and of course, happy hours. But it all culminated in May when we found out we would be interning together at FAO this summer in the Fisheries Policy, Economics and Institutions Branch in Rome, Italy. 

Congratulations to former SMEA Assistant Professor Kiki Jenkins, former SMEA Postdoc Stacia Dreyer and several SMEA alums on the recent publication of their work Human dimensions of tidal energy: A review of theories and frameworks. This paper was published in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, and provides a comprehensive review of theories and frameworks for understanding and managing human dimensions of tidal energy, including several theories about the human aspect of the innovation of emerging renewable energy technologies. 

By Mackenzie Nelson
Sea Grant Program fellowships give students the opportunity to apply the skills they developed during their graduate careers to solve real world problems with professionals in the marine science and policy fields. This year eight SMEA graduates were selected for the John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship, the Washington Sea Grant State Fellowship (formerly the Marc Hershman Fellowship), and the Alaska Sea Grant State Fellowship. 

By Allie Brown
Ask any SMEA student who recently graduated what their highlight of the year was and it’ll likely be just that, graduating. Finishing the thesis, capstone, course load, etcetera and promptly going to Agua Verde across the street in celebration, or possibly going home and taking a much deserved nap. But graduation isn’t all the good stuff that happened in the past year.