Sarah-Jane Gerstman is a senior at Wilkes University and will be graduating in May 2013 with a Bachelor of Science in Earth and Environmental Science and minor in Biology. She has volunteered for educational programs like Adventures in Science and Women Empowered By Science at Wilkes, and is excited to educate children and the community about abandoned mine reclamation and pollution during her internship at EPCAMR. For her senior project, Sarah-Jane worked with two local amphibian species, Ambystoma maculatum (spotted salamander) and Rana sylvatica (wood frog), monitoring vernal pools which provide breeding habitat for these species. Her research entailed taking water quality measurements in the field and using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Sarah-Jane mapped the vernal pools using GPS receivers and GIS. Mapping these locations is the first step in a direction toward conservation and protection, in which Pennsylvania currently has no legislation.
Sarah-Jane is originally from New Jersey, but has lived in the Kingston area for 7 years. She looks forward to learning more about the Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys and their mining history in the Northern Anthracite Coal Fields. Her interest in ecology makes Sarah-Jane a perfect candidate to work with EPCAMR as a Watershed Outreach Intern, giving her experience in reclaiming abandoned mine lands and restoring wildlife and fishery habitats.
Sarah-Jane will be interning part-time for EPCAMR, fulfilling 10-20 hours per week. She is very excited to learn more about stream monitoring, water quality monitoring for abandoned mine reclamation, and borehole monitoring. Sarah-Jane is very outgoing, which will be a valuable asset to our environmental outreach programs on AMD. Sarah-Jane has worked with GIS at Wilkes University, but is eager to gain more knowledge in GIS while interning at EPCAMR. Another goal of Sarah-Jane’s is to coordinate a stronger relationship between Wilkes students and EPCAMR. This would give Wilkes students an opportunity to help with cleanups and environmental education activities, as well as gain real-life experiences in their field, leading to possible future internships and community service opportunities.
EPCAMR Executive Director, Robert Hughes, stated, “Sarah-Jane’s resume stood out from many of the others due to her previous volunteer experience with EPCAMR on an illegal dump site cleanup we conducted several years ago in the Wilkes-Barre Area. Her Professor, Dr. Brian Whitman, was ecstatic about Sarah-Jane’s opportunity to work with EPCAMR and ability to bring some of her field monitoring water samples to the Wilkes University Water Quality Lab for split sampling and educational purposes. He will be meeting with EPCAMR to collaborate on the overlapping of student research and field efforts on monitoring stream flow loss to underground mine pools throughout the Wyoming Valley.”
One of Sarah-Jane’s first responsibilities is to monthly monitor 40 tree seedlings that are planted in Waterboxxes on the Huber Breaker Miner’s Memorial Park site, located right outside of the EPCAMR Office. She will record seedling growth, soil temperature, ambient air temperature, water temperature, and height of each plant. A Waterboxx is a patented water recycling container that conserves water and builds the tap roots of seedlings without the addition of any other water once installed into the ground. This is a research project funded by the Appalachian Coal Country Team and invented by Groassis.
Sarah-Jane is also going to conduct water sampling of AMD discharges and treatment systems, monitor boreholes in the Lackawanna and Wyoming Valleys, and assist with mine pool mapping of the Northern Anthracite Coal Fields. She will also assist EPCAMR with harvesting, drying, packaging, and marketing our iron oxide. She will assist in environmental outreach programs with regional elementary and high schools.
Welcome to EPCAMR, Sarah-Jane!
Sarah-Jane
Awwwwww, Sarah-Jane congrats on the internship. We love you and know you’ll do great work. We’re proud of you!!!