Virtual Environmentalism: URI junior works
on blueprint for watershed management
KINGSTON, R.I. -- October 8, 1998-- "Since the future of wildlife
and the ecosystems that make up our environment depends on our current actions,
it is imperative that we work to protect them now," says Amy Mocarsky
from East Greenwich, R.I., a junior at the University of Rhode Island.
While extremists of this school of thought may sometimes be discovered chained
to trees, Mocarsky often finds herself amiably tied to a desk.
Mocarsky, an environmental management major, is assisting a number of
interested Rhode Island organizations in their attempt to develop a framework
of coordinated watershed management. "This statewide 'watershed approach'
will be a blueprint for inter-agency and community collaborative management
of Rhode Island's watersheds," she says. By gathering data and opinions
from each of the in-state environmental groups, as well as the approaches
and results of similar initiatives in other states, Mocarsky is helping
to develop a coordinated watershed management plan. The paper is slated
for completion this fall.
Mocarsky is involved in this project as a fellow for URI's Partnership
for the Coastal Environment, an eight-month program that incorporates students
into the research and outreach work of the professors and research staff
of the university. She is working with Margaret Kerr, a marine research
associate from the Coastal Resources Center at the Graduate School of Oceanography.
The Coastal Fellowship Program combines a structured, prestigious undergraduate
experience with the resources and talents of the public and private sectors.
While gaining the skills as well as the contacts that will ensure their
success, students build the confidence needed to perform on the job before
they enter the job market. Fellows also receive a stipend for the work over
the summer.
"Now that I'm getting more than just virtual understanding from
a textbook, I've developed a great amount of respect for wildlife and nature
as a whole," says Mocarsky. "And, I've also met many people who
have jobs that I would love to see myself in after graduating from college!"
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For More Information: Jhodi Redlich (401) 874-2116
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