2nd Year Project

For my second year project, I plan to participate with the Fawcett Center. The Fawcett center has been in the process of repairing the riparian ecosystem that exists in the area, and invites volunteers to help with the project. Last year I participated through ENR several times by removing invasive species and also restoring native trees to the area. I removed dozens of invasive Honeysuckle plants and, with the help of all the volunteers, planted more than 2,000 new trees in the area. I had a lot of fun in the process, and I plan to continue my work with the Fawcett Center.

The Fawcett center asks for the help of hundreds of volunteers, and they will be a main benefactors of the project. However, the ecosystem is truly the purpose of the project. Riparian ecosystems are especially delicate and complex. They are very important to preserve, and so, a huge effort is being made to do so with the Fawcett Center. I did a similar project to this during my senior capstone project in high school, and I look forward to enriching my prior knowledge. I believe that participating in this particular project will benefit me in my studies, as I’m currently in the process of declaring my major as natural resource management. Taking a hands on role with the conservation of an incredibly unique ecosystem is an excellent first step in my studies. I plan to use this experience to get my foot in the door for a possible internship that I will participate in with my Second year Transformational Experience Project (STEP).

From this experience, I hope to better grasp what sort of work that ecosystem restoration and natural resource management majors will participate in. More importantly, I hope to develop a deeper involvement with ecosystems and their management in order to lay a foundation for a future career.