Greetings and Salutations! My name is Martina Plaza, and I am the new Day of Action for Rivers Intern here at International Rivers. I just want to give everybody an idea of who I am, how I got here, and what I will be working on in the coming months.
I am a junior English major and intended Environmental Studies minor at UC Berkeley. I have always been vastly inspired by nature, and was taught much about conservation while growing up. My parents never took me to Disney Land, but instead took me camping and hiking. I’m working to combine this love and respect for the environment with writing. Known nature writers such as Aldo Leopold, David Brower, and Terry Tempest Williams have inspired me to pursue this field. As you can tell, I enjoy writing very much, and look forward to improving my skills through this blogging site and writing for World Rivers Review.
I first learned about International Rivers through my Environmental Studies professor, Bob Hass, last semester. Later on, thankfully, Patrick McCully spoke to my class, and I was not only impressed with his presentation, but was stunned by the facts and figures he offered about dam affected people and rivers all over the world. It was in December that I finally decided to peruse the website for a possible internship, and here I am.
I will be working on the Day of Action for Rivers 2010 coordination, from corresponding with participants to managing the event data on the website. I look forward to frequently posting updates about events for you with March 14th on the horizon. I am thrilled to be a part of the International Rivers team, and promise to bring enthusiasm to this year's planning.
I've already recieved many notifications from people and organizations who are planning actions for March 14th. If you aim to participate on this day please e-mail me at dayofaction@internationalrivers.org and let us know. I'd love to hear from you!
"It is pleasant to have been to a place the way a river went." -Henry David Thoreau