Reflecting on my social media intern experience

As my time working for OFRI sets like the summer sun, I am reminded of the incredible opportunities the agency provided me with through its social media and outreach internship. 

I started the internship in February 2023 during my junior year as an undergrad at the University of Oregon. Now, with my bachelor’s degree in hand I am heading to the big city of Chicago. Before I leave, I’d like to share my favorite adventures and some of what I’ve learned during my time at OFRI.

One of the first projects I worked on was a winter wonderland hike in the Willamette National Forest to Sahalie and Koosah Falls in February 2023. I went following a recent snowfall and the serene forest was blanketed in white snow. I took photos of the natural beauty and jotted notes of the sights to write a descriptive blog about the hike that I shared on OFRI’s social media channels. This project introduced me to the general workflow of how to pitch, create and edit digital content in a professional setting. 

My first major social media campaign that I worked on for OFRI was documenting different forest types across Oregon that one could enjoy during spring break. I started out by heading west to the Oregon Coast to Cape Perpetua to record footage of spruce-hemlock forests. These forestlands are home to many old growth trees and a wide variety of flora. The constant wind and mist gives the trees a uniquely bent shape.

The spring break campaign closed with exploring the arid high desert landscape of the juniper woodlands. This type of forest is dotted throughout central and eastern Oregon and denoted by its shrubby appearance and the bright blue berries that adorn the juniper trees. Hidden among the surrounding sage bushes you may be able to find western fence lizard, coyote, red-tailed hawk and mule deer. This was my favorite forestland to explore because I learned about the ecology of these forests and species of wildlife previously unknown to me. This photo is from Tumalo State Park outside of Bend, which led me to visit Tumalo Falls, located about 45 minutes southwest of the state park in the Deschutes National Forest, later that fall. The sparser pine and juniper forests in eastern Oregon also look very different from the lush western Oregon forests that are dominated by Douglas-fir.

Another assignment that stands out to me was attending the Oregon Family Forest Convention  in June 2023 in Estacada to document the event for OFRI social media and other communications efforts.  It was a great opportunity to network with other forest professionals and tour the property of the recipients of the Oregon Small Woodlands Association Tree Farmer of the Year award. The tour took place on  a beautiful sunny day in the forest. I had the opportunity to learn more about riparian habitat protections for fish and other aquatic wildlife, sustainable forest practices, and even got to meet the Oregon state forester, Cal Mukumoto! 

Something I never could’ve predicted when I started interning at OFRI was being dressed up in a hard hat and personal protective equipment walking around  a lumber mill in Warrenton. Alas, that is where I found myself one day. The folks at Hampton Lumber gave me an in-depth tour of their facility and explained the full process behind processing a tree into lumber. While on the tour, I recorded that process from start to finish and created a video for our social media. It is one of our best performing videos on our platforms. 

But all good things must come to an end and my tenure at OFRI is over this summer. I’m incredibly grateful for the career opportunities, professional growth, space for creativity, and most importantly the group of staff who supported and encouraged me to evolve into the well-rounded social media guru I am today. 

So, what’s next? I’m moving to Chicago to be closer to family and to pursue my career in social media marketing. I am excited for the new social media intern to start this autumn. I hope they try new and exciting things on our social platforms. Thank you and until next time!

Trey Pokorney