Fellows

Aionna loves the feeling and sound of the sand and water at the beach, and is excited to raise awareness on the Wilmington waterfront!

Alex was introduced to his Center via a bike ride along the Schuylkill River Trail– you never know where a ride #OnTheCircuit will lead!

Alexa Messick enjoyed being outdoors as a child, especially when she could drive herself to Bombay Hook. Her passion for sharing nature appreciation will help her develop outreach strategies at The Nature Conservancy and First State National Historical Park.

Ali grew up spending lots of time in the woods, and will be using her experience to teach others about their environment.

Allison looks forward to working with the Wilmington Trail Ambassadors at DEEC this summer.

Amanda grew up visiting the ocean and exploring her local parks, and is excited to build one-on-one relationships with the members of her community this summer.

Amani used to attend camp in Delaware where she was exposed to nature. Her favorite place in nature is the Kakum National Park in Ghana.

Amberly is happy to be part of the HC team, especially on environmental issues that are so much bigger than any one person.

“My project focuses on increasing accessibility in Bartram’s Garden River programs. Specifically increasing adaptive paddling equipment and language options. Our target audience are the people in the Kingsessing, Eastwick, and surrounding neighborhoods, collaborating with neighboring disabled paddling programs. Using survey data to understand the more prevalent languages used in the area, I have connected with disabled constituents who actively use out dock.”

Amy loves the secluded environment at PEEC and is excited to have Nature as her office this summer!

Anaïs Martinez spent time hiking and visiting rivers, beaches and parks in her native Puerto Rico. She is confident that her communication skills will help determine why people don’t visit parks and how to change that.

Andrew grew up visiting Valley Green park, and recommends spending time fishing and feeding the local ducks!

Annalisa is spending her summer working with children, to teach them more about the environment, wildlife, and their vulnerabilities.

Ben has always been exploring the outdoors, and now he wants to take this opportunity to teach his local community about their own watershed.

“We worked with the Boys and Girls Club of Mercer County (BCG) to provide educational programs for children from the Trenton area. This is a partnership dedicated to increasing education on behalf of the Watershed Institute with predominately minority communities that may have never had access to environmental education opportunities. Each week, we visit a different group (grades K-8). For the younger kids (K-4), we focus on ‘What is an insect?’ and the stages of a butterfly’s life cycle. For the older kids (5-8), we focus on ‘What is pollination/pollinators?’ We bring live caterpillars/chrysalids/butterflies from the Watershed to show the group. Lastly, we are inviting all of our students to come visit our center’s butterfly house.”

Caitlyn grew up near parks and nature centers, and enjoys kayaking. She hopes to learn how to be a successful environmental educator.

Camille got the chance to explore the outdoors with her father, and hopes to spark community interest in the watershed.

Cedric Lary attended outdoor summer camps growing up in Ewing and became interested in nature as a volunteer at Baldpate Mountain. He plans to become an astrobiology professor.

Charlye wants to improve wildlife’s interaction in urban areas, such as through land bridges & living buildings.

Chloe grew up on the Hudson River, with access to the water, and lots of outdoor space! She will be working with volunteers this summer to start a new civic science water quality monitoring program

“For my Capstone project, I am coming up with plans to place an outdoor signage display in the Southbridge Wilmington Wetland Park. This display will be maintained by the Delaware Nature Society Trail Ambassadors and serve as a way to educate and engage the Southbridge Wilmington community while also creating a sense of pride and ownership for residents.”

Christina did not have the chance to explore the outdoors much as a child, but is making up for it now. She loves hiking, and will be learning conservation skills to preserve the outdoors for future generations.

Claire is excited to continue teaching young children about water management, and educate people of all ages about their impact on the Earth.

Courtney Kovacs visited playgrounds and parks as a child, but she is excited to become more “outdoorsy” through this fellowship. She hopes to eventually visit all the centers in the Alliance.

Daisy is returning to the fellowship for a second summer! She kicked off the Center’s “Water Cycle” and is looking forward to reaching more people this summer. 

Dakin Hewlett gained an appreciation for nature while hiking part of the Appalachian Trail; her English degree will help her engage audiences on the Riverfront in Wilmington.

Darien grew up playing in his local parks, but he also enjoys swimming, and his favorite place is Niagara Falls!

Devon Mahallati grew up hiking and biking in the Pinelands. She plans to improve access from the Schuylkill River Trail and believes her canvassing background will help her engage with trail users.

While Donovan’s favorite spot in nature is the deserts of New Mexico, his favorite activity around his hometown is kayaking.

Drew grew up visiting Valley Green Park, and recommends spending time fishing and feeding the local ducks!

Dylan is a Pennsylvania native, and wants to use this summer as an opportunity to teach others about the nature around them- even in their own backyards!

“My project involves the compiling, analyzing, and presentation of 20 years’ worth of biodiversity and stormwater retention data collected by George Ambrose on the man-made Naylors Run Wetland. We are working with the Academy of Natural Sciences (ANS) to draft a community science report using this man-made wetland as an example of a long-term biodiversity study. Through this report, we hope to set an example of the power of community science, assess the viability of man-made wetlands to maintain/increase biodiversity, stress the importance of wetlands, and educate community members on community science practices that they can engage in. Going forward, this project can be used for the development of programs that continue the community science work being done today, and for grant applications to restore the wetland or fund wetland-related educational programs.” Roland Wall, Director of the Patrick Center at ANS congratulated Dylan for a “job well done at such a young age,” and praised the project as an “outstanding scholarship.”

Elizet Moralez-Perez was not strongly connected to nature during her childhood in the Trenton area, but her continual desire to learn will help her identify plants and birds on the trails as she leads guided hikes.

 Emily grew up visiting lots of state parks with her family, and her favorite outdoor activity is white water rafting! She is very excited to learn more about the geography of the watershed. 

Emma spent her summers in northern Michigan, but her favorite place is the Galapagos Islands! She is pursuing her masters degree in Environmental Studies! 

Enola spent lots of time camping and exploring her local parks, and participating in tree planting days within her community.

Erin had access to trails behind her house, and combined with her fellowship, has learned to identify local animals, plants and trees in nearby forests.

Esmeralda is new to all the work being done to protect parks in Camden, but she is excited to be involved in these efforts!

Geré was in a science program in high school, and got to spend a lot of time outdoors. Now, she is hoping to encourage others to do the same! 

Gere is a 2018 Fellow at a different Center this summer; she is excited to continue working toward her goal of visiting all 23 Centers in the Alliance!

Gio loves getting outside to explore his local parks, and is looking forward to reaching out to his community through social media.

Grace loves sitting on the beach at dusk and listening to the sound of the waves. She wants to learn how to speak to the community more efficiently.

“With my Capstone, I aim to involve inner-city communities with the Fairmount Water Works and other environmental education centers. There are a lot of ways to get involved with the environment in an urban area, and I look forward to connecting people to the centers near them and informing them about what they can learn and do within their own homes.”

Ivana hopes to pursue a marine biology career, either researching sharks and rays or as the director of a marine biology outreach education program.

Izelliah grew up playing outside, and is looking forward to gaining communication and leadership skills through her fellowship!

Jack Braunstein grew up walking his dogs along the Cooper River, and is interested in researching community engagement in the watershed. His analytical skills will help him determine barriers to accessing nature in Camden County.

Jack did not spend much time outdoors as a child, and is making up for it now! He will be helping to teach the public about the watershed and it’s importance.

“My project is to observe the progress and growth of native plant, Celery Grass. The Center for Aquatic Sciences helped me grow the plant and Camden County Environmental Center has overseen the project. With gathered data taken via photos, videos, and measurements, I’m educating Camden residents about what aquatic plants are (those native to and found in Camden City), the importance of aquatic plants and their function in the Delaware River. I’m also sharing the story of how we were able to harvest Celery Grass for the betterment of the community.”

Her favorite activity is farming, but her favorite place outdoors are the cliffs and beaches of Cape Peninsula, South Africa!

Jared spent time as a child and a teen hiking near his home, and is looking forward to getting others excited about the outdoors.

“I am collaborating with other centers in my region (Bartram’s Garden, Cobbs Creek) for some of their events, as well as leading events at my center. On July 23, I led a storm drain marking event on 86th Street, from the gate of the refuge to Eastwick Train Station. This event is part of a larger effort by the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary to mark all storm drains in Philadelphia. During the event, volunteers cleaned trash from the tops of every storm drain and added a ‘Drain to Delaware River’ marker, raising awareness of where our water goes.”

“I am creating an enviroscape to represent the Philadelphia area surrounding the Schuylkill Center, that shows where the Schuylkill River meets with the Delaware. It is an interactive model showcasing the way that water works with the landscape, specifically in the case of storm water runoff. The activities will include identifying point source and nonpoint source pollutants, putting some form of debris in that area, and then using a spray bottle to show the runoff going into the rivers. My target audience is children between the ages of 7-10.”

Jess Kraus fished, hiked and visited parks as a child. She is excited to work with the Heritage Conservancy to connect people with nature, and plans to pursue a career in environmental law or land conservation management.

Jessica is really excited to see what her co-Fellows’ Capstone projects will be, and she is ready to learn more about the watershed!

Joanne Douglas considers herself a city girl who always seeks out an oasis in the natural world. She is excited to engage student interns in learning about and appreciating the waterways, and exhibiting their work in a creative way.

Jordan is a returning fellow from 2017! Following his goals from last year, Jordan is hoping to master public speaking and community outreach during this summer.

Jose got to learn about the parks near him while in high school. He wants to gain confidence in leading nature walk and teaching classes.

Joshua Pringle data analysis background will help him support environmental education programs & interactive teaching methods at this education outreach center for the Philadelphia Water Department.

Kathleen grew up along the Delaware River, and wants to reach out to as many people as possible to teach them about their environment.

Kavon spent time outside growing up, and wants to know how to better reach the public and disperse information about the environment. 

Kayin is a returning fellow from 2017, and is excited to see that children are just as excited to learn about nature as he is!

Kayla loves the beach and is ecstatic to be on the shores of the Delaware at Independence Seaport Museum!

Kelci is proud to return to Lehigh Gap as a Fellow after 8 years of being a camper, leader & naturalist club member!

Kennedy, an environmental economics major, got to paddle in this year’s annual Sojourn on the Schuylkill paddling event!

Kierra spent time in her youth visiting the Poconos, and is looking forward to connecting with the youth in her own community.

Despite living in the Trenton area all her life, Kim wasn’t familiar with her Center until this job opportunity!

Kristopher did not spend much time outside growing up, but John Heinz is his favorite place when he wants to spend time in nature

Kyle’s favorite activity is hiking by his family’s cabin in Canada. He has seen the programs that impact the lives of children while at the Heritage Conservancy.

Liam has spent his entire life hiking, kayaking and camping, and is learning how to share the importance of the environment with different communities around his center.

“The main goal of this project is to raise awareness of water(shed) health while trying to reach constituents that we don’t normally reach and building a sense of community based on a shared interest in clean water. We engaged community artists to paint sets of stepping stones which are placed at locations that are already doing things that support clean water (native gardens, community garden spaces, etc.). The message ‘support clean water’ will be across the first three stones, while the last stone will highlight the ecosystem service that the location provides. The goal is for the stones to be simple in the content but aesthetically pleasing, to get constituent’s attention, and raise awareness of individuals who otherwise may not get the information. We are hosting a stepping stone painting event on August 12th, where community members can come see the stepping stones that we have on site. They can also paint and take home their own stepping stone after pledging to support clean water.”

Maggie is happy to work alongside other scientists doing water monitoring this summer!

Malcolm did not have the chance to spend a lot of time outside as a child, but now he will be working to learn about and work with the environment.

Marcus loves sci-fi, comics, video games & birdwatching; he hopes to become an archivist after graduating college.

Marcus is a returning fellow to the Alliance this summer! He wants to continue to gain knowledge about the watershed and the environment.

Marissa Wolfe grew up taking vacations that always centered around water, which led her to study Marine Affairs. She looks forward to teaching people how to positively impact the watershed.

Mark’s favorite place is the Bioluminescent Bay in Puerto Rico, and he loves swimming, both in Puerto Rico and Pennsylvania!

“The Schuylkill River Greenways hosted a large all-day event where we invited the Reading community to join us at Riverfront Park to see what it has to offer to the community. This project aims to get more people on or near the water and to appreciate the benefits and beauty of living near the Schuylkill River. Activities include free biking and kayaking, a clothing swap with partner Opportunity House, educational activities, food, yard games, etc. I want to provide fun activities while sharing the watershed’s importance and how it contributes to the local community.”

Nagiarry Porcena-Meneus grew up in the natural, wild beauty of Haiti. Her interest in people, places, and life has inspired her goal of publishing her book about parent-child relationships.

Nahida Rahman hopes to become a “person of nature” during her fellowship. Her experience in hospitality and her interpersonal skills will serve her well as she engages with the community on the docks at the Independence Seaport Museum.

Nayeli was surprised to learn of full-time jobs dedicated to protecting the Creek, but is now proud to be among them!

Ngoc is a returning fellow from summer of 2017. She loves spending time outdoors to rejuvenate her mind and body, since she did not have the opportunity to growing up.

Noah is eager to work hard this summer at his center, gain knowledge of the environment, and to share it with Philadelphia community.

“The idea for my Capstone project is to implement a system at Gateway Park where volunteers from the Camden community are able to be assigned different tasks that would require them to look at some of the trees we have planted in the past and make observations about the condition of the trees based on its physical appearance. In order to record information on trees, we would utilize the Landscape software in which I can create a task for volunteers, so they are able to record responses based on the observations they were asked to make. I held a kickoff event on July 20th that introduced the concept of this project to volunteers.”

“For my Capstone, I am creating a diorama of Petty’s Island to showcase the changes that it has experienced over the last decade. I am building it using polystrene, dry wall paint, and other DIY materials to make a semi-realistic model of the island. My target audience is the people of Camden and those who visit during our event. People have heard about Petty’s Island, but they have a hard time imagining what it could possibly look like. I want to get people excited about it becoming a nature preserve in a few years.”

Obeyo really enjoys canoeing the Delaware River–especially when bald eagles soar overhead!

Rachel Hess didn’t spend much time in nature growing up in suburban Harrisburg. She is eager to lead trail hikes during her fellowship, and hopes to pursue a career in environmental communications.

Ritvika loves the design and ideology behind the Discovery Center and is so excited to work at such an amazing getaway in the heart of Philadelphia!

Robb enjoys traveling and acting, and liked paddling with Outward Bound this summer.

Ronald wasn’t familiar with his Center before this Fellowship, but he was excited to go canoeing and has learned many new, surprising things!

Rosa loves learning new things in Nature, and was surprised to learn about her Center’s community outreach!

“We worked with the Boys and Girls Club of Mercer County (BCG) to provide educational programs for children from the Trenton area. This is a partnership dedicated to increasing education on behalf of the Watershed Institute with predominately minority communities that may have never had access to environmental education opportunities. Each week, we visit a different group (grades K-8). For the younger kids (K-4), we focus on ‘What is an insect?’ and the stages of a butterfly’s life cycle. For the older kids (5-8), we focus on ‘What is pollination/pollinators?’ We bring live caterpillars/chrysalids/butterflies from the Watershed to show the group. Lastly, we are inviting all of our students to come visit our center’s butterfly house.”

“My Capstone project will reframe Croydon Woods as valuable preserve to community members instead of neglected trails that were previously used as a dumping ground. These efforts will result in more actively involved community members working to keep trash out of the parks and waterways, fighting invasive species, and having a deeper relationship with the environment in their backyards. The program focuses on educating local families from the Croydon neighborhoods about their own watershed, how it contributes to the greater Delaware Watershed, and the wildlife commonly found within their own woods. This helps create a more engaged and empowered constituency at the preserves and encourages visitors to take an active role in keeping the preserves safe for community use. I have many opportunities to learn new skills while working at Heritage Conservancy.”

Samantha is a returning fellow, who is spending her second summer with the Alliance! Since last year, she has learned how diverse the communities of the watershed are, and how connected the people are.

Sara was a girl scout growing up, and got to spend time outside with her parents. She is learning at her center the impact that educating others can have on the environment.

“The goal of this capstone is to further educate children and families in Reading, Pennsylvania about the importance of different amphibians living within the Delaware Watershed. Specifically, I have been working to develop fun educational games and activities to create excitement about the topic of native amphibians. I have created a lesson plan with an informational lecture, fun facts, a list of all the native amphibians of the Delaware River Watershed region, and five detailed games/activities geared to grades 3-5. Additionally, I am creating a coloring/activity booklet for children to continue to learn from at home. It is very detailed with facts, descriptions, and accurate drawings with key indicators. One such indicator is the large X across a Spring Peeper’s back. There are a lot of words in the booklet, but younger children still benefit from having someone read it to them and also from coloring accurate images.”

“My three-prong project aims to be educational, engaging, and actionable, and is designed to encourage folks to visit The Discovery Center. Another part of my Capstone is to create 2 physical demonstration sites for the center; one is a compost system, while the other will be a portable pollinator/native plant box. Lessons focus on 3 different topics to offer the Education Team an array of potential programming when conducting tabling events external to the Center. The target audience for the programs will be a variety of ages, ranging from 4-85.”

Tarilyn spent a lot of time outside in her hometown in New York. She is looking forward to spreading the word about the Alliance through the website and social media!

Taylor’s experience building urban gardens has prepared her for a career in environmental justice nonprofit work!

Thomas Doyle swam in rivers, visited parks, and played in the woods as a child. He hopes to use his expertise in fixing bikes to improve people’s experiences on the trails.

Tilea loves the beach, and is looking forward to leading by example and making more environmentally healthy life choices.

Truth grew up near a wildlife management area, but is still looking forward to learn as much as possible while at PEEC.

Tucker has always loved seeing animals outside, and wants to get others excited about seeing wild animals in their natural habitats.

Tykee James became interested in observing nature by stargazing. He believes that the many obstacles between people and nature can be overcome by educating for the public good to create generational value.

Veronica loves playing in creeks & hopes to inspire people to become closer to nature.

Viviana is excited to continue learning to identify plants and track invasive species using technology!

“Through this Capstone, we are educating people on waste that is being thrown out and eventually ends up in the Delaware River. This will be done through a 3D model that represents the city of Camden. I will educate the people of Camden on the importance of using clean alternatives that are good for the environment.”

“The goal of this project is to increase accessibility and public interest in the Levee Loop Trail surrounding the Brodhead Creek in the East Stroudsburg. We hope to revive it by introducing an educational quest that sends participants to all five of the attached parks. Their mission will be to collect totems of native organisms that contribute to a thriving ecosystem, to restore balance to the land. The totems will be collected via crayon rubbing in booklets provided by us. The crayon rubbing plates will be designed in a mythical art style and cast in epoxy resin, then placed around the parks with information signs. The booklets will contain riddles or clues that guide the players from one location to the next and link all of the creatures to the ecosystem through storytelling or poetry. When the player has collected all of the totems, they can redeem them for a prize at their local community cents or at PEEC.”