Every year, we welcome a new group of interns and seasonal hires, all of whom are as excited to work to protect the environment around the Long Island Sound region as we are to have them.
We are happy to introduce this summer’s newest team members, and to allow you to get to know a little about what motivates them in their work with Save the Sound and what inspires them about preserving and restoring the natural environment.
NOTE: We will continue to add to add to this blog as new teammates come aboard throughout the summer.
David Abreu, Environmental Technician
What is one thing you would like your friends, family, classmates, and peers to understand about the work you’re doing at Save the Sound, helping to protect Long Island Sound and its surrounding environment?
It may seem simple at first, but this work is immensely critical in showing trends over time and in helping local governments craft public policy to address the many environmental issues that we face, from street flooding to sewage overflow. Everyone on this planet relies on water to live, so I believe that our work is vital to a healthy environment for all.
Scarlett Crakes, Water Quality Intern
What is something that has surprised you in your work at Save the Sound?
Something that surprised me about working at Save the Sound was how sampling water for Bacteria Monitoring took so much athletic ability to scale riverbanks and such.
William Hamson, Healthy Waters Intern
So far, what has been your favorite experience working at Save the Sound?
My favorite experience so far has been being able to observe the breadth of the conservation work performed by Save the Sound. Recently I was given the opportunity to sit in on the Save the Sound-wide weekly meeting in which every department discussed what they were working on, and their communication needs for that week. It was fascinating to see all of the work, and the people behind the work, that Save the Sound does every day, from eelgrass plantings to going out and recovering lobster traps.
Jillian Houle, Legal Intern
What first inspired your interest in Law?
I sort of always knew I wanted to be a lawyer, but the desire didn’t crystallize until my junior year of college. In undergrad at Roger Williams University, I took an “Environmental Rhetoric” course just to knock out a writing requirement. That class is the reason why I actually made the decision to apply to law school and is the reason why I only applied to schools with the best Environmental Law programs in the country. The course focused on climate change and how rhetoricians portray it to various audiences. All the while, I was learning about the crisis itself, and it made me very anxious. I resolved, at the conclusion of the course, to live and work in that space. To do something about this anxiety and work toward counteracting decades-old wrongs committed by industry and people in power. Today, I cannot imagine a different path for myself.
Martha Laramore-Josey, Environmental Justice Intern
So far, what has been your favorite experience working at Save the Sound?
I got to spend a couple of weeks at the Capitol for the end of the Connecticut legislative session. I learned a lot about the legislative process and did some lobbying for the first time– talk about hands-on learning!
Heather Leonard, Water Quality Intern
What are you most excited to do or learn during your time at Save the Sound?
While I have some experience with bacteria sampling from college courses, I am most excited to gain a better understanding and become more familiar with both field and lab work. This is a larger-scaled version than what I have experienced in the past. I think the work I am doing with Save the Sound will give me a useful hands-on introduction into environmental science work.
Caroline Mayer, Healthy Waters Intern
You are gifted a day off to spend out in nature – doing whatever you choose, wherever you want. Where would you go, and what would you be doing?
I would spend my day in Wolfeboro, NH. My family has a cabin on Lake Winnipesaukee, and I would spend my day swimming and paddleboarding in the cove near our house, listening to the kids splashing in the water and the sound of the boats speeding by. I always do most of my reading by the lake, so I would spend hours reading as well. After the day of swimming and reading, I would go on a scenic walk along the Cotton Valley Trail.
Brooke Mercaldi, Legal Intern
Do you have a favorite spot on or around Long Island Sound? What makes that place special to you?
My favorite spot around Long Island Sound is Hammonasset Beach State Park because that is where I conducted a substantial portion of my honors thesis research, which inspired me to pursue a career in environmental law. I also frequently return to Hammonasset to walk along the park’s paved trail and enjoy sunset picnics on the beach.
Andreina Barajas Novoa, Cleanup Intern
What is something that has surprised you in your work at Save the Sound?
I had the opportunity to help staff a cleanup at Hammonasset Beach State Park, and I was surprised by the amount of garbage we found in under an hour. At first glance, the beach looked clean, but after close inspection we found numerous cigarette butts, cans, and other kinds of trash. We collected about 25 pounds of trash.
Cate Palaia, Soundkeeper Intern
So far what has been your favorite experience working at Save the Sound?
My favorite experience working at Save the Sound is when we went eelgrass diving at a state senator’s house in Mystic, CT. Right in the backyard, there was a beautiful, abundant meadow with a ton of diversity and extremely clear water. We collected samples and measured the number of shoots and seeds in a given area. Being able to see and immerse myself in a healthy eelgrass meadow was amazing and gave me a real sense of how important eelgrass is for the Sound’s ecosystem to function.
Nico Acuna Perales, Seasonal Fisheries Technician
So far, what has been your favorite experience working at Save the Sound?
While checking the traps I set in Woodbridge, CT to evaluate the migration of alewifes during their spawning period, I had the opportunity to encounter several incredible species. Among the ones that caught my attention were the musk turtle and pumpkinseed fish. But encountering northern water snakes and manipulating them to release them from the traps was one of the most challenging and satisfying experiences I have had this season.
Drew Williams, Healthy Waters Intern
What is one thing you would like your friends, family, classmates, and peers to understand about the work you’re doing at Save the Sound, helping to protect Long Island Sound and its surrounding environment?
The work I am doing at Save the Sound is a small piece of an important process of how to help our environment. Collecting individual water samples, crunching data, analyzing and summarizing the data for the public and legislators, hearing from the public and legislators about concerns with the health of their waters, and turning this into advocacy for important legislation within the New York and Connecticut state legislatures is incredibly powerful, effective, and meaningful. Watching how much work goes into each step, and how dedicated my colleagues are, I have never felt this positive about environmental change.