Intern Blog: Jack Van Etten helps communities implement sustainable practices

Posted August 19th, 2019 in Featured, Internships, News, Sustainable Community Planning
Jack Van Etten sits in front of green bushes

Jack Van Etten interned with Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) as an undergraduate of Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island. He is a senior majoring in Environmental Science with minors in Marine Biology and Global Communications. Funded by IISG and mentored by Kara Salazar, Van Etten was positioned at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.

I spent my summer working with Purdue Extension and Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant, specializing in sustainable community development. During my internship, I gained experience working with counties across the State of Indiana, aiding them as they produced plans to develop rain gardens, deal with invasive species and promote sustainable efforts.

In my time with the program, I worked on the following projects:

  • Podcast Series – In order to prepare communities to go through the Purdue Extension planning process, I created an informative podcast series that could be used for introductory material. This podcast series covered subjects such as the social determinants of health, keys to healthy eating and active living, strategizing and crafting an action plan. I had never written or produced a podcast before, so it was interesting to work through that creation process.

  • Rain Garden Templates – Working with multiple counties, I developed a template for promoting rain gardens. This was focused around making information on depth, plants, shape, composition and drainage easier for the public to access, with the goal of inspiring communities to build more rain gardens to help with stormwater drainage.

  • County Planning – To deal with controlling the spread of invasive species, I assisted Pulaski County as they started to develop an invasive species plan. To do this, we assessed the strengths of the county, the goals that they wanted to accomplish and the best strategies to accomplish these goals. This was a process that should encourage and guide the county towards a system that will help quell the push of invasive species.

Before this internship, I was unfamiliar with sustainable practices in Indiana and the planning processes that must be undertaken to get those sustainable practices going. However, over the summer I gained experience with promoting sustainability and invasive species awareness, as well as the production of plans. During my time with the IISG and Purdue Extension programs, I also got practice with networking, improving my rhetoric in a business setting, learning graphic design and performing outreach in both casual and professional settings.

I leave this program to return to my senior year at Roger Williams University, where I am majoring in Environmental Science with minors in Marine Biology and Global Communications.

Learn more about our internship opportunities online, or contact Angie Archer at (765)496-3722, amcbride@purdue.edu.

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is a part of University of Illinois Extension and Purdue University Extension.

IISG Instagram

This season, let’s teach eco-friendly habits while spreading cheer! NOAA’s Greener Holiday Gift Guide is full of ideas to reduce waste and protect our precious water resources.

Check out the full guide at the link in bio.

#teachingtuesday

NOAA Marine Debris
NOAA Education

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This season, let’s teach eco-friendly habits while spreading cheer! NOAA’s Greener Holiday Gift Guide is full of ideas to reduce waste and protect our precious water resources. Check out the full guide at the link in bio. #teachingtuesdayNOAA Marine Debris NOAA Education

The gales of November may come early, but, as usual, the nominations for the Lakies are right on time along with our official call for nominations!

Brought to you by the Teach Me About the Great Lakes podcast, The Lakies (aka "quite possibly not the least prestigious Great Lakes-focused awards ceremony there is”) are back.

Our goal isn`t to be the Official Arbiters of Quality, but to host a fun celebration of amazing Great Lakes-related research, outreach, and communication in the inimitable Teach Me style.

Nomination categories are:
-Great Lakes Science Communication of the Year
-Great Lakes Outreach Program of the Year
-Great Lakes News Event of the Year
-Great Lakes Research Finding of the Year
-Coolest Thing You Learned Listening to TMATGL in 2025
-Science Podcast of the Year (Non-TMATGL edition)
-Great Lakes Animal of the Year
-Great Lakes Non-Animal of the Year
-Great Lakes Sandwich of the Year
-Great Lakes Donut of the Year

The Details:
-Deadline: Nominations close on December 4th.
Process: It`s easy (just enter the name/title and a link).
-Self-Nominations: Highly encouraged. Don`t be shy.

We’d love to get a broad swath of work across both the serious and less-serious categories to celebrate. Feel free to pass the link on to interested people: https://bit.ly/Lakies25

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The gales of November may come early, but, as usual, the nominations for the Lakies are right on time along with our official call for nominations! Brought to you by the Teach Me About the Great Lakes podcast, The Lakies (aka "quite possibly not the least prestigious Great Lakes-focused awards ceremony there is”) are back. Our goal isn't to be the Official Arbiters of Quality, but to host a fun celebration of amazing Great Lakes-related research, outreach, and communication in the inimitable Teach Me style.Nomination categories are:-Great Lakes Science Communication of the Year-Great Lakes Outreach Program of the Year-Great Lakes News Event of the Year-Great Lakes Research Finding of the Year-Coolest Thing You Learned Listening to TMATGL in 2025-Science Podcast of the Year (Non-TMATGL edition)-Great Lakes Animal of the Year-Great Lakes Non-Animal of the Year-Great Lakes Sandwich of the Year-Great Lakes Donut of the YearThe Details: -Deadline: Nominations close on December 4th.Process: It's easy (just enter the name/title and a link).-Self-Nominations: Highly encouraged. Don't be shy.We’d love to get a broad swath of work across both the serious and less-serious categories to celebrate. Feel free to pass the link on to interested people: https://bit.ly/Lakies25

Making Sense of Social Media: Presented by Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant & Purdue Extension
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When: December 6, 2025, from 1 - 4:00 PM EST
Where: RDM Shrimp, RDM Shrimp, 101 N 850 E, Fowler, IN 47944
Registration Link in bio.
‌
Social media can be a great way to market your small business and products, but sometimes it might feel like you are casting a net again and again to find that your net is empty. After all, the point of using social media marketing is to connect with customers. By attending this workshop, you will:
-Hear Research Findings
-Participate in an Interactive Workshop Session
-Learn Real World Application
-Tour a Shrimp Farm
-Network at the “After Hour Social”
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This program is supported by the North Central Regional Aquaculture Center and put on in partnership with the Indiana Aquaculture Association Inc, RDM Shrimp, and Ohio Sea Grant, The Ohio State University.
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For questions contact Amy Shambach by email (ashambac@purdue.edu) or phone (317-238-0511)

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Making Sense of Social Media: Presented by Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant & Purdue Extension‌When: December 6, 2025, from 1 - 4:00 PM ESTWhere: RDM Shrimp, RDM Shrimp, 101 N 850 E, Fowler, IN 47944Registration Link in bio.‌Social media can be a great way to market your small business and products, but sometimes it might feel like you are casting a net again and again to find that your net is empty. After all, the point of using social media marketing is to connect with customers. By attending this workshop, you will:-Hear Research Findings-Participate in an Interactive Workshop Session-Learn Real World Application-Tour a Shrimp Farm-Network at the “After Hour Social”‌This program is supported by the North Central Regional Aquaculture Center and put on in partnership with the Indiana Aquaculture Association Inc, RDM Shrimp, and Ohio Sea Grant, The Ohio State University.‌For questions contact Amy Shambach by email (ashambac@purdue.edu) or phone (317-238-0511)
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