Hi there, my name is Olive! I’m originally from New Jersey, and graduated from Bard College with a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental and Urban Studies in the spring of 2021. With the Hudson River as my backdrop, I was able to gain extensive experience in the field while at Bard. 

In college, I volunteered for the Hudson River Eel Project, an initiative started by NY State’s DEC to monitor juvenile American eels on their annual migration from their spawning grounds in the Sargasso Sea to the Hudson River and its tributaries. The project serves to raise public awareness of the species and its threats, as well as to generate population data that policy makers can utilize in making decisions pertaining to its conservation. Later, I did an internship for the project, which consisted of coordinating field outings, conducting research on American eel biology and conservation, and participating in adult eel surveys.  

I also volunteered on the Painted Turtle Project conducted by Hudsonia, an environmental nonprofit in the Hudson Valley. To investigate whether the painted turtle was expanding its home range to include tidal wetlands to compensate for subpar environmental conditions in their natural non-tidal habitats, we performed home range assessments and tracked changes in painted turtle activity as well as habitat selection. My involvement in the Painted Turtle Project allowed me to familiarize myself with some of the field methods used to collect data on turtle populations such as live-trapping, nest surveying, and radio tracking. 

I’ve long been interested in amphibian research and conservation, and thus am thrilled to have the chance to learn more about the Frosted Flatwoods Salamander as well as the other amphibians of the Longleaf Pine ecosystem through my internship at St. Marks Wildlife Refuge. I have no doubt that the skills that I develop during my internship will aid me enormously in my future professional endeavors. I look forward to seeing what sort of experiences await me in the next few months and sincerely thank all of you for making such an opportunity possible.