June 3, 2011
Justyna Sacharzewska is a 2010 Wilkes University graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in Earth and Environmental Science. During her time at Wilkes, Justyna was part of the Ground Deformation Survey Team, which assessed relative ground displacement due to volcanic activity in Yellowstone National Park by use of survey-grade GPS receivers. She also assisted with research on carbon isotope analysis of plants, vertebrates, and invertebrates found on a Superfund site in Palmerton, Carbon County, Pennsylvania. For her senior thesis at Wilkes, she worked on assessing the special distribution of macro-nutrients in soils within the Harvey’s Lake Watershed in Dallas, Pennsylvania, using high accuracy GPS receivers and GIS analysis. The findings of her thesis were then summarized into a report for the Environmental Advisory Council (EAC) of Harvey’s Lake.
Justyna is a native of Poland, but has lived in the Mountain Top, Pennsylvania area for the last decade. EPCAMR Executive Director, Robert Hughes, says, “many Polish immigrants came to Northeastern Pennsylvania to work in the Anthracite coal mines. Justyna has the opportunity to learn about the local Anthracite coal history, as well as the history of her culture and its influence on the region.”
Justyna will be working part-time with the EPCAMR staff. She is familiar with GIS and already created a GIS map of the municipalities in the Wyoming Valley that EPCAMR actively monitors boreholes to measure elevations of the mine pool water, in partnership with the Susquehanna River Basin Commission. EPCAMR is conducting a Borehole Awareness Campaign within these communities. Many times boreholes, often located in the middle of streets or along road shoulders, are paved over by local road departments. Justyna will also create a similar list and GIS map for the Lackawanna Valley.
Robert goes on to say, “Justyna will get hands-on experience in the abandoned mine reclamation field and the opportunity to make connections with our partners.” EPCAMR is glad to have Justyna on board. In just three days, she has already sampled over 20 boreholes in the Wyoming Valley, created a GIS map, and got to go on a kayak trip on the North Branch of the Susquehanna River to see several stream confluences, including Bowman’s Creek, which EPCAMR helped assess for a Coldwater Heritage Conservation Plan.
