Joe Miragliotta

8/5/19

Internship report

Section 1

The objective of the project that I am involved with is to educate the people about the

flora and fauna around Sedge Island. Sedge Island is a part of a group of islands that are part of

the Sedge Island Marine Conservation Zone. this is a 1900 acre zone that personal watercraft

such as jet skis are not allowed to enter. The reason that jet skis are not allowed to enter the

conservation zone is that they are able to go through the narrow channels of the salt marshes.

And scare the ospreys that nest there. Allowing crows and other predators get the eggs from the

nest.

The big picture of the project is to help spread awareness of the species that are within

the salt marshes of New Jersey. It is important for us to teach the participants about the salt

marshes because the flora and fauna that inhabit the salt marshes are very sensitive to the

environment that they live in, and any change in the environment could change what is able to

survive there. This project is related to environmental science and education because during the

internship we take adult and youth groups of around fourteen participants and teach the

participants about clamming, fishing, kayaking, and general information about the flora and

fauna of Barnegat Bay.

Section 2

My role in the project is to assist the program directors leading education groups at Sedge

Island. What I do while I am at Sedge Island is teach adult and youth groups clamming, fishing,

kayaking, and general information about Barnegat Bay. I led a Sedge Island house tour and
taught the groups the history of the house. I led kayaking tours through the salt marshes that are

around the island. I also assisted the program directors with the maintenance of the equipment

for each trip that goes to the island. That includes the equipment for kayaking, fishing rods and

reels, fishing tackle and snorkeling gear. What I have accomplished in this project is to educate

groups that come to Sedge Island about the flora and fauna that are around the island and in the

salt marshes. My contribution to the project is that I helped to spread the knowledge of the flora

and fauna that inhabit the salt marshes. I feel that I did a good job with my contribution to the

project.

Section 3

What I have learned through this internship is how to identify different species of birds

by the way that they look and sound. I also learned that elevation of a salt marsh make a big

difference for the vegetation that inhabit the marsh. Even if it is only a few inches that means a

lot because there are plants that can be submerged in water two times a day and plant that can

for once every couple of weeks. What I learned in terms of leadership is how to relay

information that I know to the participants of the group effectively. I learned teamwork by

having another intern and a program director there to bounce information off of and to work

together to complete the activities for the day.

Section 4

My training and education at Stockton has helped me prepare for this job by having me

able to identify different species that we find in the environment. The course that was the most

helpful with my internship would be Ecology. This course has helped me learn some of the skills

that I used on a daily basis at the internship. I learned how to identify species that we find in the

environment in this course. A suggestion that I have for the Environmental Science Program
could use is possibly more courses that offer a hands on experience with what the students are

learning.