Introducing Patsy DeLacey

By Patsy DeLacey

Hello! My name is Patsy DeLacey, and I’m interning with Friends of Trees this summer through the DukeEngage program. DukeEngage, funded by the Duke Endowment and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, sends Duke undergraduate students across the globe to participate in an eight-week service group program or an individual project.

I’m here in Portland with eight other Duke undergrads to serve nonprofit or government organizations with a focus on environmentalism. We have students placed with The Nature Conservancy, The Wild Salmon Center, SOLVE, 1000 Friends of Oregon, Crag Environmental Law Center, Metro, and of course, Friends of Trees.

To tell you a little about myself, I’ll be a junior at Duke University this fall. I’m majoring in Evolutionary Anthropology with a concentration in primate behavior, ecology, and cognition. I’m from Chesapeake, Virginia, which is in the southeastern corner of the state where the Chesapeake Bay feeds into the Atlantic. This summer has been my first time visiting the west coast. I’m definitely enjoying this beautiful Portland summer weather with no humidity to speak of! Not to mention my first encounter with the relaxed west coast attitude that I’ve come to love these past couple weeks.

I’ve been enjoying exploring the beautiful Pacific Northwest with the other students in my program during our free time. This past weekend we did a work party with The Nature Conservancy at the Miami Wetlands, made a pit stop at the Tillamook Cheese Factory, saw the tide pools at Arch Cape, and camped at the coast. We’ve also made trips to Oxbow Park at the Sandy River and Mt. Hood. If you’re interested in keeping up with our program, be sure to read our blog.

I’ve been getting a good survey of Friends of Trees during my internship.  Two days a week I work with Green Space Initiative doing summer maintenance at field sites throughout the Portland metro area. We’ve been dutifully tending to the plants volunteers planted the past few seasons, whether it’s watering, mulching, removing invasive species, or “daylighting” by removing pesky weeds around plants. I also spend two days a week with Neighborhood Trees carrying out summer inspection routes on recently planted street trees in Portland. I like to think of it as their “quality control” to ensure the good health of the trees through the dry summer months. The rest of my time is spent with with Volunteer & Outreach or Development & Communications so I can get a taste of every program that keeps Friends of Trees running smoothly. It’s been interesting to get a feel for how a nonprofit organization functions.

I can’t begin to describe how friendly and welcoming the staff of Friends of Trees has been to me during my internship. It’s been a blast so far working with these wonderful people who are so passionate about what they do. I’ve learned quite a bit about the native plant species and trees of Oregon as well. I’ve been working on my tree identification skills, but I still have a lot to learn. I’ll be doing a few more posts during my time here, so keep an eye out!

–DeLacey is a DukeEngage Intern at Friends of Trees this summer. We’re thrilled she’s joined our team!