Environmental Science Intern: Melody Simon
Hi, my name is Melody Simon and I am a high school intern at Freshkills Park. I attend the New York Harbor School and I am a senior in the aquaculture program there; doing aquaculture for 3 years has made my previous love for animals and the environment turn into something I am passionate about. I have done projects focused on data collection with organisms in marine habitats. These projects were done in groups and on two different types of marine habitats. I look forward to working on projects that aren’t marine-based.
What are you working on, and why do you think it’s interesting?
I will be working on grassland research, tagging, and organizing camera footage of the wildlife in the park. I will be also helping out with lesson planning with oyster work and how to make online learning more exciting to students. I will be learning about grasslands and doing research on them. I think these work products are interesting because they are focused on me learning about land base animals which are different from what I’m used to and I want to learn about the different species of animals at the park that are not only marine-based. So, this work is important to me to increase my knowledge of animals and their habitats.
What drew you to Freshkills Park?
What drew me to Freshkills Park was that it was transformed from a landfill into a park. This drew me in because I used to always think of ways to make a cleaner sustainable way to deal with trash and garbage. I’ve thought about an intricate sewage system that stops the sewers from polluting the water bodies around when it rains.
What is your favorite topic surrounding Freshkills Park and why?
My favorite topic surrounding Freshkills Park is their grassland animal data examining which species are occupying the park. This is my favorite because analyzing the data involves not only identifying the species but also describing their behavior. This is useful knowledge for me to help start a career in veterinary medicines learning animal behavior.
What is your favorite color?
My favorite color is blue.
