Dmitri Nickell digs in with Shirley Heinze Land Trust
Dmitri Nickell is a member of the current cohort of McKinney Climate Fellows, a workforce development program administered by the IU Environmental Resilience Institute and the Integrated Program in the Environment.
Nickell is currently working towards a bachelor’s degree in sustainability studies with a minor in German. Appropriately enough, his Instagram bio quote is “Wir teilen alle die gleiche Welt” (“We all share the same world.”)
Nickell, who grew up in Bremen, Ind., has had an adventurous journey already in his time at IU South Bend. He began during the remote Covid era, and became an R.A. in student housing to meet more people. He helped supervise students’ return to campus in spring 2021 and organized a series of scavenger hunts to boost morale.
When he learned about the “Green Germany” study abroad trip being offered from May 19 to June 3 this year, Nickell recognized immediately that it would be a perfect match for his major and minor. Funding was initially a problem, but he got creative, selling house plants, cleaning cars, and even securing a sponsorship from the Round Barn Theatre in Nappanee.
“As a German minor, it was incredibly valuable to be able to go there and experience the culture from the standpoint of being thrown into the deep end,” Nickell said.
Although ecology was the primary focus, the trip was framed with cultural touchstones including German literature and folklore.
“We actually got to see a house that one of the Brothers Grimm lived in,” Nickell said.
His internship as a McKinney Climate Fellow has found him working at the Shirley Heinze Land Trust in Valparaiso, where he will be through August. His duties include preparing educational briefs using the geographic information system ArcGIS.
“I didn’t know much about ArcGIS until I did some ArcGIS intro work at the (McKinney Climate Fellows’) Climate Camp,” Nickell said. “Learning how to use that has been especially interesting.”
Nickell is currently using ArcGIS to create and refine a paddling map for the East Branch Little Calumet River, identifying hazards and low head dams and pointing out recreational activities along the stream.
Nickell is on course to graduate in December.
“A degree in sustainability has broad appeal when it comes to finding jobs,” Nickell said. “Whether it’s working in the field – quite literally – or doing more office-type work, or something that involves both, there should be plenty of options.”
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