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Kayla Gutheil ’24 is one of 31 student fellows who completed research with a community-based organization in upstate New York this summer as a part of the Upstate Institute Summer Field School. She describes the project below in her own words: 

Over the past few weeks, I have had the privilege of working with the nonprofit organization AdkAction through the Upstate Institute Field School. AdkAction was founded in late 2007 and is based in a small town in the northeastern Adirondack Park called Keeseville. The organization is composed of four full-time staff members who, along with board members and volunteers, are involved in eight projects that address various issues ranging from environmental justice and conservation to community revitalization and affordable housing. As summarized by its mission statement, AdkAction’s goal is “to address unmet needs, promote vibrant communities, and preserve the natural beauty of the Adirondacks for all.” Although the organization serves both local and seasonal residents within the Adirondacks, their projects are place-based and therefore confined within the park’s boundaries. 

One of AdkAction’s most popular projects is the Adirondack Pollinator Project (APP), which was officially launched in 2016 after engaging in monarch butterfly conservation efforts since 2011. The educational and involvement approaches from earlier in the project (e.g. lectures, brochures, film screenings, and free milkweed seed packets) easily translated into pollinator conservation more generally. Rather than distributing milkweed seeds, AdkAction began sending packets of native northeastern wildflowers to Adirondack Park residents upon request. The organization has given out 70,000 packets to date. Additionally, the APP has sold over 10,000 native and pollinator-friendly plants since 2018 and has helped install 26 demonstration community gardens across the Adirondacks. The educational component of the project can be seen in the “Library Buzz” children’s programming in celebration of Pollinator Week each year in addition to year-round events in partnership with the Wild Center, Paul Smith’s College, and Northern New York Audubon. 

This summer, my role within the organization is to research actions that could be taken to maximize pollinator conservation while also evaluating how effective the APP has been in reaching its target audience. My initial approach was to search for Adirondack-specific data on pollinators to develop a better sense of the species that are most prevalent and threatened in this unique region. Given that the Adirondacks is the largest state park in the country with over 2.5 million acres of protected wilderness, the connectivity and abundance of the habitats makes for a large-scale pollinator oasis. I was surprised to find little published data on Adirondack-specific pollinators and pivoted toward researching more general conservation strategies, such as the reduction of roadside mowing, landfill revegetation efforts, and the possibility of developing other local partnerships. I then turned to community stakeholders and APP partners for their insight on our current programming as a means to assess project effectiveness. In addition to my research, I have also had the opportunity to be involved in AdkAction’s events throughout the summer, such as painting the faded Pollinator-Mobile trailer at AdkAction’s annual arts festival!

As someone pursuing a major in environmental studies, this project has allowed me to engage firsthand with the community-based methods I read about in my classes. My English major has also helped me communicate more clearly and effectively with my peers and in correspondences beyond my organization. The chance to work for a nonprofit has opened my eyes to how much work goes on behind the scenes to make everything happen, especially the ongoing need for fundraising and donations to continue the work that they do. Through the generosity of the Upstate Institute, I have been granted both an amazing fellowship experience and a summer in the beautiful Adirondacks.