Nicodemus Wilderness Project -- Global Registry of Apprentice Ecologists

My project at SGL 302 was monitoring the development of mitigated wetlands. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation had destroyed several wetlands on the border of Washington and Greene counties and the professor that I worked with had been hired by the Department of Environmental Protection and the Game Commission to help restore the wetlands and monitor their development over ten years. I was fortunate to work on this project this year, and I think that it really put into perspective all of the good that the degree I am pursuing can do. As an environmental science major, I learn a lot of very sad facts about conservation and the environment in general, but seeing these wetlands being restored and conserved gives me hope. There are people out there that care, and there are people that are taking steps. Conservation of these biomes are incredibly important - globally, about a third of all endangered species can be found in a wetland. Learning about the local flora and fauna and which species thrive in a wetland, as well as learning conservation methods and putting them into action, was an invaluable experience.