Three students attended the Pacific Northwest Regional conference for The Society of Ecological Restoration (SER) in October. Forest and Rangeland Stewardship undergraduate and graduate students David Keyes and Clarissa Moberg-Greene respectively joined Ecosystem Science and Sustainability student Liz Kehm at the conference, held in Spokane, Washington. They attended sessions that addressed regional and continental issues of importance to wetland science and ecological restoration.

Liz Kehm, President, Society for Ecological Restoration CSU Student Organization

“I feel extremely lucky to have had the opportunity to attend the Pacific Northwest Regional Society for Ecological Restoration Conference. A highlight was the student and emerging professional lunch, where we could network with others in the restoration field. During this time, we also had a chance to express how SER can better accommodate student members’ needs.

Hearing about such a wide variety of interesting research projects has truly helped me with making post-graduation plans. I also had the opportunity to share the student club’s 1 Million Tree Initiative with some of the SER directors, which was another step taken in the right direction, in hopes to spread the word to many other SER chapters.”

David Keyes, Sophomore, Restoration Ecology Major

“The SER Conference was an exciting and intimidating experience.  There were many restoration professionals and we had many opportunities to hear about their research and field work.  Some of the information was over my head, but it’s always good to be reminded there’s still plenty left to learn.

Another great aspect of the conference was having the opportunity to hear from the Society of Wetland Scientists (SWS).  There is a climate difference between the Northwest area and Colorado and the SWS were able to provide a detailed insight into wetlands and how they work on restoring them.  On top of all of that, we were able to engage in productive dialogue with members of the board of the International Chapter of SER about how to improve the Student Chapters as well as overall communication and partnership.  I’m really looking forward to the next conference in March hosted at CSU which will allow more members from our chapter to attend.”