The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Great Swampa placeto learn and teach
CANASTOTA, N.Y. >> For interns at the Great Swamp Conservancy, the swamp is a place to take in nature, teach the next generation and figure out just what they want to do in life.
Emily Farnier, a junior at Keuka College; Talon Abrams, a senior at Morrisville State College; Amanda Gordon, a graduate student at the University of Illinois at Springfield and Jenny Meislin, a SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry senior all chose the Great Swamp Conservancy for one reason or another for their internship. And having been there since May, the four had nothing but good things to say about it.
“I’m studying renewable resources,” Abrams said. “I needed an internship to graduate and this [the GSC] seemed like a good place. I think non-profits are important to support and this whole park itself is interesting. There’s a lot of unique stuff here and I like educating the public.”
Farnier is a bio-med major with aminor in criminology and criminal justice. When asked why she decided to intern at the Great Swamp Conservancy, Farnier said she has been thinking about changing her major.
“I’ve been thinking of changing mymajor to an environmental major because I think I’d like to be a DEC officer or a fish and wildlife game warden,” Farnier said. “I figured the internship would let me test to see if this is the field I want. I’mundecided still, but I really like. I think it’ll take another semester.”
For interns at the Great Swamp Conservancy, the day is filled with education — first the public and then themselves. On a normal day, the interns take groups of people of all ages into the swamp to learn about the great outdoors.
Brianne Wilcox, conservation educator at the Great Swamp Conservation said the interns are there to teach, so students from all across the area are brought in to learn.
“They come from all different schools like Solvay, Chittenango, Oneida, Stockbridge and more,” Wilcox said. “We split up into groups and go out into the swamp with students, where they can catch and release.” Lesson plans depend on the age of the students, Wilcox said. Younger students get just to experience the great outdoors, but fourth graders get to learn about New York state animals. “We have a lesson plan on beavers where they build a dam,” Wilcox said. “And a lesson plan on bluebirds where students can learn about them and how starlings are threatening their population.” Interns taught those classes with some help, Wilcox
said, but by the end of the first week, the interns were teaching by themselves.
After the interns are done teaching, Wilcox takes themout into the swamp for a lesson plan themselves.
“I’ve learned about identifying, which I didn’t have before,” Farnier said. “It was my first time out in a swamp this big. My dad has always taken me out to swamps to catch frogs and salamanders, so that wasn’t new to me. But what was new was all the unique wildlife in such a small area.” On Tuesday, July 2, the Great Swamp interns were walking the muddy trails and identifying all manner of plants that existed along the trail. GSC Assistant Director Rusty Patane said she was surprised to have so many interns but was thankful for Wilcox’s push to get them.
Gordon said the Great Swamp Conservancy said she wanted to do something that was outdoors and was interested in the education aspect. “I think one of my favorite aspects of the Great Swamp is that every day is different,” Gordon said. “One day, we’re identifying plants, which is something I’ve never done before. The next day, we’re doing in-class teaching about wetlands or learning about deer and population.”
Gordon said she liked how enthusiastic younger children are about learning and the great outdoors. “For the twiglings, the children betweenthe ages to three to four, we were getting them out into nature and letting them enjoy it,” Gordon said. “Conservation education is so important, especially for children, because they’re able to absorb so much information and are so excited. They don’t have any preconceived notion about what nature should be and are open to everything you tell them.”
Meislin, a major in environmental communication with a minor in environmental writing/rhetoric said the Great Swamp Conservancy was a perfect place for her since it gives her a chance to educate. “Part of my major is educating people about finding different, creative ways to educate all ages about the environment,” Meislin said. “And educating childrenis a great way to start.”
Meislin said teaching children has been great, since how positive they are about. “It’s very exciting for them, so it’s exciting for me,” Meislin said. “It’s great to see themso excited about nature and maybe be the one to inspire them to start a career.”
When it comes to the importance of environmental education, Meislin said everything coincides with nature in some way or another. “It’s the basis of everything and without it, we have nothing,” Meislin said.
“I think conservation is really misunderstood and not covered as much as it should be, especially nowadays with how important it is,” Abrams said. “We gotta save the Earth, right?”