PORT ANGELES — Bret Carey’s curiosity about conservation of the natural resources on the North Olympic Peninsula spawned a Web site he maintains for his senior culminating project.
A senior culminating project is required for all Washington state high school graduates. In the projects, students are required to ask and answer a question that is important to them.
“Through this Web site, the partnership hopes to meet the needs of natural resources-related employers looking to recruit or inform the public, natural resources professionals looking to learn about or gain employment, and students, like Carey, who are curious about or aspiring to a career in natural resources,” said Dan Lieberman, North Olympic Peninsula Skills Center natural resources teacher.
Carey’s question was: “How can I be involved in conservation of natural resources in our region?”
Carey said he has been interested in conservation since he was a child.
“Growing up, I had a lot of family and friends in the forest services and who were biologists,” he said.
Since he began earlier this school year, he has researched a host of fields and collaborated with Peninsula College employee and recent Huxley College of the Environment graduate Shea McDonald to make a Web site.
That site — www.opnrc.org — now contains information on what the natural resource fields on the Peninsula do, as well as links with job and volunteer information, Lieberman said.
The project involves contacting many people in many organizations, Lieberman added.
“This is the biggest project I have ever done,” Carey said.
Jobs — and ideas
In addition to providing information about various Peninsula jobs available in conservation and natural resources, the Web site also gives an overview of some related ideas for senior culminating projects.
“Students can use this to not only get information about how to get involved in this, but they will also probably be looking at this for ideas for projects,” Lieberman said.
“The ideas aren’t limited to just this type of project either,” he added. “Students could easily use some of the ideas for service projects.”
Lieberman said he and Carey have had a lot of feedback from local organizations.
“One might say we need more jobs from the private sector, so we work on that,” Lieberman said.
“And others will give other ideas which we get to work on.”
Lieberman said he hopes his classes can maintain the site after Carey graduates from Port Angeles High School next June.
To suggest ideas or links to be added to the Web site, e-mail dlieberman@port angelesschols.org or phone 360-565-1892.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladaily news.com.