Hello,

My name is Elysa Kwaw. I am currently a rising fourth-year majoring in Civil Engineering with a minor in Nonprofit Management at The Ohio State University. I am also interested in City and Regional Planning and Education. I enjoy learning and exploring the intersection between these subjects. This summer, through the Columbus Foundation Summer Fellow Program, I will be interning at the Friends of Alum Creek Tributaries(FACT) in Westerville, Ohio. FACT is a nonprofit that focuses on protecting and maintaining the Alum Creek Watershed. They also work on other environmental issues, such as removing invasive species in parks surrounding the watershed. I spent the first week as a Summer Fellow at FACT, learning about the organization and understanding the work I will be doing with FACT this summer. This summer, I will be helping FACT manage its Tree Nursery located at 271 Hiwatta Rd. Come check it out if you want to see the work FACT is doing.

Through the summer, I will also be working to create a Google map that showcases FACT projects and important points of interest around the Alum Creek watershed. These points include the Low head dam removal and their extensive invasive species removal work around the Alum Creek watershed. The last assignment I will be working on this summer is organizing Salt watch data that FACT has collected over the years. The plan is to make it as visually pleasing and easy to read as possible for promotional activities like tabling events. So far this week, I have gained a background understanding of watershed protection and its importance. I have also learnt how small design choices can affect the way the environment is shaped, ie, the different type of storm system designs affects how much water gets back into the soil.

Love,

Elysa K.