| Meet Cassie Simons, our newest AmeriCorps Watershed Stewards member. Cassie joined us in February and will be working throughout the year on watershed restoration projects and environmental education.
Cassie moved to northern California a year ago, when she joined AmeriCorps Watershed Stewards Project to work with the Department of Fish & Game in Ukiah. There, she performed habitat surveys and taught environmental education.
After helping at the Children’s Festival last May at Lowden Park, she decided to sign up for a second year of AmeriCorps in Weaverville. Cassie is eager to work for the Resource Conservation District, she states“it will be an interesting shift from Fish & Game”, and is fascinated about learning how to be part of the vital link for landowners interested in conservation.
Born and raised in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan, Cassie attended Michigan State University in East Lansing, earning a Bachelors degree in Environmental Policy and Anthropology. During college she volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, where she helped with an after school program for inner-city schools. Upon graduation, she worked at a food co-op in Lansing as well as at a Bed & Breakfast on Lake Michigan.
She is excited about living in the Trinity Alps and getting to go on many hikes and checking out the diverse ecosystems of the area. Living so close to Mt. Shasta has her very enthusiastic about learning how to snowboard as well. “I have my season pass, and the initial bumps and bruises from learning are almost gone, so I’m all set!” she remarked. She also enjoys belly dancing, playing guitar, and doing yoga. Her current passions are “identifying wildflowers and trees”, so you may see her wandering around town in the spring with her field guide in hand.
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We’re happy to introduce AmeriCorps Watershed Stewards Project member, Kate Grossman, who was placed at our office this past fall. Kate has been busy working on various projects at the RCD including, lab analysis on turbidity samples for water quality testing, teaching environmental education at Weaverville and Coffee Creek elementary schools and working on a sediment transport-monitoring program. She looks forward to working with landowners implementing restoration projects during the remainder of this year.
Born in Ohio, Kate’s family moved just outside of Atlanta, Georgia where she was raised. She returned to Ohio to complete her degree in 2001 at Ohio Wesleyan University with a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies and Zoology. An internship assessing the water quality of abandoned mines fueled Kate’s passion for conservation work.
Upon graduation, Kate joined the AmeriCorps Watershed Stewards Project. Her first year was spent working for the Department of Fish and Game in Ft. Bragg. “My most memorable moment was being stung by 27 yellow jackets when I was doing field work ”, Kate tells of her experience there. Because of her interest in working with private landowners, Kate selected Trinity County for her second year. She enjoys being close to the mountains where she plans to ski Mt. Shasta this winter and kayak this summer. Her other hobbies include knitting, hiking, reading, and Ohio State Football.
Trinity County has proved to be quite a change for Kate who says, “ In Atlanta the highways had 8 lanes of traffic, and that was just for one direction!” But the beauty of the landscape and the friendly nature of the people has made the transition pleasant. So far she has thoroughly enjoyed working for the RCD and finds herself gaining invaluable skills for the future. She plans to attend graduate school on the West Coast in the not-so-distant future specializing in watershed management and/or environmental restoration. But for now you can catch her in the classrooms and in the streams, learning and teaching about conservation.
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