NOAA grant provides $2 million for climate-related internships

By Mark Muckenfuss

A federal program aimed at developing ways to combat the effects of climate change will bring $2 million to Cal State Monterey Bay. The funding will support 45 paid internships, stipends for six intensive professional internships, an undetermined number of teacher assistant positions and other scholarships. 

The money, from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is part of a five-year $71 million grant headed by the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation that involves 30 additional agencies, schools and organizations in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties. The Climate Resilience Regional Challenge grant is part of the Biden Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act. 

Interns engaged in the program will work on projects that address mitigating the impacts of rising sea levels and storm surge on low-lying, disadvantaged coastal communities, as well as flood damage along the region’s four major rivers from more intense storms and wildfires in the watersheds of the vulnerable communities. Some of the projects will be led by CSUMB researchers, some will be projects run by outside agencies.

Thomas Horvath, interim dean of the College of Science, said the grant will allow students to gain important skills that can translate into career opportunities.

“For me, this is all about student success,” Horvath said. “Everything just aligns beautifully with the CSUMB mission and vision.” 

Part of that mission is to make an impact on the local region. 

“Many of our students want to stay in the area after graduating and contribute to their communities,” Horvath said. With paid internships making that more of a reality, he added, “I see that as a way to be more attractive for future students.”

President Vanya Quiñones said the grant dovetails with the CSUMB mission in other ways as well. 

“This grant aligns perfectly with our goal of helping students find their strength through hands-on experiences,” Quiñones said. “Through paid internships, our students will work with various partner agencies on real-world climate issues, network with government, nonprofit and climate science professionals, and build connections to support them in finding engaging career paths.”

Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Andrew Lawson said the grant marks one of several collaborations between CSUMB and NOAA.

“I am thankful that we continue to have a fruitful partnership with NOAA, with this grant just the latest in its support of Cal State Monterey Bay,” Lawson said. “This grant will connect us with community partners conducting important climate resilience work in our region, and it allows us to build a pipeline of diverse graduates who are prepared to work in these fields.”

In addition to full internships, the grant will allow for the creation of smaller paid positions said James Guilinger, an assistant professor of applied environmental science and principal investigator for the grant. Those positions will be for teacher assistants in courses with a climate resilience or adaptation component.

“We’re going to be offering mini-grants to faculty to create climate resilience work in their curricula,” Guilinger said. 

When faculty members add additional components to their courses, it often means more work in terms of grading and student support. Paying for additional TAs with the grant funds will lighten that load and simultaneously attract graduate students by offsetting tuition, Guilinger said. The idea came from student feedback.

“A lot of our students were saying, ‘Your department does a good job of teaching climate change impacts but we want to hear about solutions,’” he said. “That’s the exciting part of this grant. It does fulfill that need directly.”

Hovarth said influencing curricula can make a huge difference.

“An internship or a tuition waiver is going to affect one student,” Hovarth said. “This is beautiful because we give faculty the opportunity to design their curricula to incorporate climate adaptation. It’s a huge multiplier because it’s going to impact literally hundreds of students.” 

Gerick Bergsma, an assistant professor of marine science, is overseeing the grant implementation. He expects most of the internships will be with outside agencies. CSUMB already has close ties with many of the organizations that are part of the larger grant. He expects the collaboration spurred by the grant will strengthen those ties. 

Students, he said, will be able to build on skills they have already acquired through their science courses, or strengthen those they are currently working on. The projects they will be involved in might include such things as wetland restoration, stabilizing watershed areas and mitigating the rise of riverbeds due to silt deposits.

“Students could get involved with mapping or vegetation restoration,” Bergsma said. Other elements that might come into play could include remote sensing, predictive models and hydrological or geospatial analysis.

“This is about getting students the experience and skills they need,” he said. 

More information on the grant and the anticipated projects can be found on the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation website.