Taylor Lundberg recently joined our staff as a water program intern and will be writing guest blog posts over the next number of months. We’ve asked Taylor to introduce herself, talk about her work, and give a teaser for the upcoming blog posts. Here’s what she had to say:

Hi everyone! My name is Taylor Lundberg, and I’m one of the new interns working at Clean Wisconsin this fall. I hail from a small northern suburb of Chicago called Deerfield, and I’m a sophomore at the great UW-Madison. I’m planning on majoring in Environmental Studies, International Studies, and Political Science. My interests vary depending on the day, but the overarching theme that always seems to apply is my passion for the environment. Whether it’s running up to Picnic Point, relaxing on the Terrace, or riding my bike along the lakeshore path, both nature and the environment play an integral role in my life.

During my last semester of high school, I took an environmental science class (not out of interest, I admit, but out of the fact that it had a reputation for being an easy A). Luckily, in my quest for the perfect GPA, I had encountered what has become my life’s passion: the betterment of the environment.

Coming to Madison as a freshman, I wanted to jump right in and get involved with environmental issues, but I had no clue where to start. Should I work with alternative energy? Recycling initiatives? Environmental education? The possibilities were endless, and I dabbled in a couple different things last year. As a sophomore, however, I wanted to do something more meaningful, more concrete. That opportunity came to me in the form of this Clean Wisconsin internship, which promised the ability to do meaningful research and to work with others who are well informed about the issues.

When I started as an intern at Clean Wisconsin, I took on the task of researching and profiling something about Wisconsin’s environment that was special to people. Out of all of Wisconsin’s natural resources, I chose to focus on the Great Lakes, specifically Lake Michigan. I’ll be doing research about the economic benefits Wisconsin receives from Lake Michigan, conducting interviews with people who have stories and memories from their recreational activities on the Lake, and taking some photographs that will tie all of these components together.

In the first segment of this project, I’ll be blogging about a trip I took to a beach near my hometown, close to the Wisconsin-Illinois border. I talked to a few people about their connection to Lake Michigan and how it has impacted their quality of life. I’ll also be exploring some ideas such as beach health and invasive species, and sharing this research on the Clean Wisconsin blog.

Please stay tuned!