This year’s Luing Family Internship Program Environmental Education Interns spent 12 weeks leading public education programs, while immersing themselves in the unique environment of the surrounding salt marsh and barrier islands. They worked hard and through it all developed the skills they need to continue their careers in environmental education. Each year, interns are asked to develop and implement an education project of their choosing that is personally and/or institutionally beneficial. The deliverables from their projects leave a lasting impact on The Wetlands Institute and we hope you’ll stop by to see their education initiatives in action.

Pictured left to right: Julia Dahms, Hannah Delahaye, Hannah Drahusz, Fiona Buck

Intern Projects Overview

Julia Dahms (Eckerd College) worked with Prezi to revamp the Marine Debris Science Feature to include a greater emphasis on microplastics and other emerging threats to ocean health, as well as creating a new tri-panel poster about marine debris and its effects that will be displayed in the Secrets of the Salt Marsh Aquarium.

Hannah Delahaye (Towson University) spent her summer reimagining the Bev Henry Salt Marsh Rubbing Trail into an interactive scavenger hunt that allows children to learn more about the salt marsh and the animals that call this ecosystem home, while solving puzzles and clues along the way.

Hannah Drahusz (Millersville University) capitalized on her artistic abilities to create and illustrate a Salt Marsh Exploration through Art Activity Packet that allows children of all ages to engage with the nature found along The Wetlands Institute’s Salt Marsh Trail, and use their artistic minds to explore patterns and colors naturally found in the marsh.

Fiona Buck (Stockton University) used Final Cut Pro software to add subtitles to three of The Wetlands Institute’s educational videos, including the iconic Secrets of the Salt Marsh film, the Terrapins in the News video segment shown in Terrapin Station and on the Virtual Wetlands Experience, and the upcoming A Day in the Aquarium video, in efforts to make them more inclusive to the Deaf, deafened, and hard-of-hearing communities.