Minnesota GreenCorps member joins Watershed District

 

For 11 months, the Shell Rock River Watershed District has another set of hands focused on green infrastructure improvement.

Those hands belong to Minnesota GreenCorps member Claire Rabine, whose responsibilities while at the Watershed District will include stormwater management work, urban forestry work and outreach and education. Rabine started with the Watershed District Oct. 1.

Minnesota GreenCorps is an initiative run by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. It places AmeriCorps members with host organizations statewide to help address environmental needs, including Rabine’s focus on stormwater management.

“I knew I wanted to do something environmental but I wasn’t sure exactly what to do with that, and I know that GreenCorps offers a lot in terms of experience and networking and being able to go all over the state and try different things,” Rabine said.

Rabine has a bachelor’s and master’s degree in geology from University of Minnesota-Morris and University of Minnesota-Duluth, respectively. However, she started as a chemistry student.

“I realized that I was indoors all the time and I was miserable,” Rabine said.

Geology meant more time outdoors, which Rabine loves. When she’s not working, she may be camping, hiking, riding a stand-up paddleboard or hammocking.

Rabine moved to Austin to be closer to her fiance, who lives there and is finishing graduate school, so she requested to be placed in southern Minnesota.

During her time with the Shell Rock River Watershed District, Rabine will be promoting the use of rain barrels and doing outreach about both rain barrels and rain gardens, including looking at places to install new rain gardens and helping people learn how to make their own.

Watershed District Administrator Andy Henschel said he thinks Rabine will be a valuable part of the team.

“I think it offers the district and the city a great opportunity to bring somebody in that can focus on the stormwater and educational pieces,” he said.” With our staff being quite taxed at this time, it’s nice to have somebody else that can take on some of those issues and duties.”

Rabine said her time in GreenCorps is an opportunity to learn more about transitioning ideas to actions in life and in government.

Her work with GreenCorps also involves cooperation with the city of Albert Lea, specifically urban forestry. This week, Rabine will help plant trees. She will also help with the city’s annual tree inventory as well as outreach and education in the schools and wider community.

“I’m excited to make some changes,” she said. “I’m excited to educate people because a lot of people just don’t, don’t know a lot of the problems that we face, so I’m really excited about that.”

 

Claire Rabine

Age: 24

Occupation: Minnesota GreenCorps member through AmeriCorps

Address: Austin

Family: fiance, Joey Kretchman-Grande

Interesting fact: “I own two very grumpy cats that have never let me pet them.” Rabine’s cats are Atlas and Grayson