Molly Taylor ’25

Major

History

Project Title

Archival Ecologies

Certificate(s): Computer Science

As climate change increases the frequency of extreme weather events, museums and archives are increasingly at risk of damage and destruction. I contributed research and writing to an audio series about the collections lost in the 2021 wildfire in Lytton, British Columbia. Through the story of Lytton, this project explores the connection between climate change and cultural preservation. Our team spent a week in British Columbia interviewing the stewards of Lytton’s cultural institutions about their collections and plans for recovery. Participating in fieldwork strengthened my interest in the environmental humanities and expanded the possibilities for my independent work as a history major. In the final weeks of the internship, we produced the first episode of the series. This work reinforced my excitement for nonfiction storytelling, as I loved thinking creatively to present interviewees’ perspectives alongside historical context. Beyond the concrete skills I developed during this internship, which included writing for audio, recording high-quality audio and finding obscure sources through the library, I gained an understanding of how to tell nuanced, personal stories around climate change.



Internship Year

2023

Project Category

Environment and Society and Urban Sustainability

Organization(s)

Blue Lab, Effron Center for the Study of America, Princeton University - Lytton, British Columbia, Canada; Princeton, New Jersey

Mentor(s)

Allison Carruth, Professor of American Studies and the High Meadows Environmental Institute; Jayme Collins, Postdoctoral Research Associate, High Meadows Environmental Institute