Environmental Internship Program - 2023 Booklet
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Charlie Nuermberger ’25<br />
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE<br />
Certificate: <strong>Environmental</strong> Studies<br />
PROJECT TITLE<br />
Identifying Advocacy<br />
Opportunities for a<br />
Basin-scale Approach to<br />
Natural Infrastructure<br />
ORGANIZATION(S)<br />
<strong>Environmental</strong> Defense<br />
Fund (EDF)<br />
LOCATION(S)<br />
Raleigh, North Carolina<br />
MENTOR(S)<br />
Will McDow,<br />
Director, Climate Resilient<br />
Coasts and Watersheds,<br />
EDF<br />
Because the biophysical boundaries of a<br />
watershed like the Mississippi River basin<br />
don’t correlate well with political units like the<br />
municipality, county or state, the <strong>Environmental</strong><br />
Defense Fund (EDF) advocates for a “whole river”<br />
or basin-scale approach to improving water<br />
resource conditions in major watersheds. Two<br />
central challenges for producing change at this<br />
scale are modeling project benefits and accessing<br />
appropriate funding mechanisms for project<br />
implementation. I worked with EDF to develop<br />
an agenda and produce a summary report<br />
about a workshop entitled “Quantifying the<br />
Downstream Benefits of Natural Infrastructure”<br />
that convened to discuss modeling opportunities<br />
in the basin. I also drafted briefs on state-level<br />
policy for the Clean Water State Revolving<br />
Fund to identify changes that could enable<br />
better access to funds. I practiced skills like<br />
workshop facilitation, technical writing and<br />
policy research. My experience highlighted the<br />
importance of informational collaboration and<br />
careful maneuvering through existing economic<br />
structures.<br />
ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIETY<br />
AND URBAN SUSTAINABILITY<br />
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