Maxwell Reister reporting from Mt. Rainier

Trees and mountains are some of my favorite things, but they certainly make it difficult to get internet access (hence the delay of my first posting). My first night was a restful one, courtesy of the National Park Service's researcher housing at the Nisqually Entrance to Mt Rainier. Jason Williams, an environmental engineering grad student at WSU, met me at the housing and introduced me to his research assistants Camden Nix and Mikell Bova. Williams and his assistants are studying the effects of nitrogen deposition on alpine lake systems as part of the National Science Foundation's Nitrogen Systems Policy-Oriented Integrated Research & Education (NSPIRE). For each testing location, they have to pack in three hiking backpacks full of testing equipment including an inflatable two-man watercraft in addition to their personal camping gear.
The next day we were joined by Tonnie Cummings, a regional air resources specialist with the NPS. We hiked to Lake Allen, two miles and three thousand feet of elevation gain from our car. A piece of necessary testing equipment was misplaced and two members of the group selflessly volunteered to hike back down the hill and return with it in record time. The team enjoyed a partly sunny day at the lake and undampened spirits despite the junglesque moisture level. I interviewed Tonnie with the lake as a background and thanked the journalistic gods for the better-than-studio surroundings. I was slightly worried about moisture getting to my sensitive electronic equipment but plastic baggies kept everything safe. 

Today is an off-day, with a trip to the big city of Elbe (pop. very few), cleaning equipment, and relaxation being the focus. Next up: Hidden Lake

Renee Hausske Murrow College Reporter

Hello, All!

My name is Renee Hausske, and I’m a senior at Washington State University, in Pullman Washington. I will graduate in May 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in Science Writing and minor in Environmental Science. I gained a passion for environmental studies after taking classes my freshman year. I will never turn down an opportunity to go outside to explore and learn. I keep my hiking boots in my car just in case! I would ideally like to work for a zoo, an aquarium or a non-profit organization focused on environmental issues. My goal in life is to establish a career that I love doing. I aspire to assure the natural beauty of the environment will be here to stay for generations to come.

Maxwell Reister Murrow College Journalist

I'm a Washingtonian from the apple in my eyes to the moss on my toes. After growing to the height of six foot and one inch-ish on a diet of sausages and pine needle tea, I left my home county of Chelan and roamed the greatest of all possible states. I've squelched around the Olympic peninsula, swam in the Columbia, and ambled across the vast ocean of wheat surrounding The Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at Washington State University where I study journalism and German. With 71,362 square miles of Washington to experience, there is plenty of the blessed 42^nd left for me to discover and I'm ever so pleased to do so through the Backpack Journalism program at Murrow College.

Faculty Adviser Roberta Kelly

Clinical Associate Professor

Coordinator, Media Writing Course
Coordinator, Journalism Internships
Faculty Adviser, The Association for Women in Communications
Faculty Adviser, Communication; Agricultural/Communication

Office: MURE 211
Phone: (509) 335-9153
E-mail: rkelly@wsu.edu

BIO:

Roberta Kelly (M.S., 1980, Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine) is a clinical associate professor in The Edward R. Murrow College of Communication.  Her research interests include prescription drug abuse among college students, the cessation of cigarette smoking among pregnant women, and teaching scientists how to communicate their research to a lay public.  She has twice served as president of the Pacific Northwest Association for Journalism Educators and twice as journalism sequence head in the Murrow College.  Kelly is the course director for Writing in Communication (Com 300) and was assistant dean of the Murrow College.  From 2007-10, she was the coordinator for Murrow College Assessment, and since 1996, she has coordinated the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association Publisher-in-Residence program.  Kelly also serves as the faculty adviser for the WSU chapter of The Association for Women in Communications, recognized nationally 16 times, and served on the national AWC Student Task Force committee. She has reviewed numerous textbooks on writing and reporting and directed several workshops on science communication.

EDUCATION:

M.S., Washington State University, College of Veterinary Medicine
B.A. (cum laude), Washington State University, Communication (journalism emphasis)
B.S., University of Alaska, Biological Sciences
A.A.S., State University of New York-Delhi, Animal Science

Murrow College Backpack Journalism - Environmental

 

 

August 2014.   The Murrow College Backpack Journalism project joins scientists in the high alpine regions of Mount Rainier researching the effects of nitrogen deposits on the environment.