EPCAMR has found a way to bring on 2 additional Summer Watershed Outreach Interns thanks to a State/Local Internship Program (SLIP) through the PA Department of Labor & Industry Employer Contract Funding Agreement program through EDSI Solutions 
and the Luzerne/Schuylkill County Workforce Development Board, Inc. that will cover their time learning with us and performing internship activities for 8 weeks through the Summer. See their 2019-2020 Annual Report here. 
Both students are from opposite mountains surrounding the Wyoming Valley. Levi Sunday-Lefkowitz is from the Back Mountain and Kyle Argenziano, is from Mountain Top and will be working together with our EPCAMR team. Levi is a rising Junior at the University of Rochester, NY, studying Chemical Engineering with a minor in Environmental Engineering and was a former Wyoming Seminary College Preparatory School graduate that had worked with EPCAMR while he was at Seminary and a part of Dr. Andrea Nerozzi’s Advanced Placement Environmental Science Class, who is now an active EPCAMR Board Member at Large. He came highly recommended by Dr. Nerozzi and had completed a humorous educational demonstration video using a layered cake his team made on understanding coal mining beneath the Wyoming Valley and Wyoming Seminary that can be found on YouTube. Levi, for the longest time, said, “I’ve had a passion for the outdoors and improving the stunning environment in Northeastern PA. In my spare time, you’ll find me hiking, fishing, and generally spending time in the beautiful Back Mountain, I call home.”
He went on to say passionately, “The desire to better our natural ecosystems and improve sustainability in commercial and industrial sectors is what lead me to my current career path. Although the unforeseen complications of this Spring have made this past semester more difficult, I’ve been able to rise to the occasion and close out the season with confidence. In the past two years, I’ve worked on several research projects investigating topics such as methane emissions due to hydraulic fracturing and constructing a functioning solar-powered water heater. Back on the University campus, aside from my academic coursework, I’m an active member of several organizations to explore my passions.” Levi participates in the University’s branch of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and intends on running for a position on the Leadership Board this coming semester. He is also a member of many performance groups, including the University of Rochester Chamber Singers, as well as multiple musical theatre troupes. He went on to say, with regards to juggling his priorities and responsibilities, “I do my best to keep a well-balanced lifestyle at home and on campus, balancing my academics and social work with care.”
Levi Sunday-Lefkowicz taking a break along a stream while enjoying nature.
Levi recalled his enthusiasm and first introduction to EPCAMR while in High School by saying, “I was first introduced to EPCAMR during my Senior year at Wyoming Seminary College Preparatory School. It was through my AP Environmental Science course that I was able to get an up-close look at the work being done by EPCAMR to reclaim abandoned mine lands, provide educational programming to area students from schools all across the region, and restore waterways polluted by abandoned mine drainage, and I was very intrigued. To see an organization so dedicated to improving the natural resources of Pennsylvania and educating others on the importance of environmental awareness, I soon started doing my research. Later that year, a few classmates and I presented our research on former coal mining practices and the cleanup efforts being made by EPCAMR, during our Founders Day celebration. Recently, I reached out to Bobby Hughes, the Executive Director to request an interview to be considered for a Summer internship and become involved with the amazing work he and his staff have completed over the last 25 years. He was gracious enough to meet with me and we discussed the potential for working with them this Summer. I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to join the EPCAMR team. I believe I can offer a unique, analytical, yet grounded perspective, from my chemical engineering background. The work being done on the reclamation of abandoned mine drainage (AMD) is of particular interest to me and I hope to be able to aid EPCAMR on field sample collections, chemical and biological monitoring of area streams, culvert assessments, cleanups, tree plantings, and stream recovery project designs. The opportunity to get my hands dirty and contribute something meaningful to the area is a valuable experience for both professional and personal growth. I hope to be able to help EPCAMR in making our beautiful area, even more inviting once restored and reclaimed.” Levi is currently a seasonal Lab Technician for Harrold’s Pharmacy in South Wilkes-Barre, PA, and will be working part-time over the next 8 weeks with EPCAMR with a flexible schedule.
EPCAMR Executive Director Bobby Hughes stated, “While the EPCAMR Staff are not able to get any fieldwork completed at the moment, there is plenty of work and research to be completed online that both Levi and Kyle will be doing until we can get outdoors again. They both have already completed their North American Aquatic Connectivity Collaborative (NAACC) Stream Continuity Aquatic Organism Protocol Training where EPCAMR has taken a leadership role to assess culverts for aquatic passage of fish and animals throughout Northeastern PA. They will become certified Lead Observers with EPCAMR once they get 20 culverts assessed and shadowed by the EPCAMR Executive Director later this Summer. They will also get started on doing some background research work on historic places, landmarks, institutions, and areas like the Huntsville Reservoir in the Huntsville Creek subwatershed of the larger Toby Creek in the Back Mountain to assist with our development of the Huntsville Creek Coldwater Conservation Plan. They will then focus their attention on the Mill/Gardner Creek watershed across the Wyoming Valley and begin doing the same to assist the staff with the compilation of historic reports, data, water quality, relevant studies, historical land uses and impacts within the watershed, and fishery information on the coldwater resources. They will have plenty of work ahead of them.”
Huntsville Creek Watershed Map.
Kyle Argenziano taking a break in the Grand Tetons National Park, Wyoming.
Mill/Gardner Creek Watershed Map.
Kyle Argenziano is currently a graduating senior from the Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania pursuing a B.S. in Environmental, Geographical, and Geological Sciences (E.G.G.S.). His tract was Geography and Planning with a minor in GIS and Spatial Analysis. Kyle said “I went into environmental science because I have always had a love of the outdoors. I have been running through, wading in, and fishing in creeks ever since I was a child. My current hobbies still lie heavily in the outdoors. I love backpacking, rock climbing, trail running, hiking, and I even sometimes fly fish. However, I also enjoy music and playing video games which I can do from the comfort of my home.”
Kyle also mentioned why he applied for a competitive internship with EPCAMR. “I applied for EPCAMR’s internship because I wanted to be involved in something and an organization that is directly making a positive impact on the environment. I feel that “grassroots” organizations are the most effective at making a direct impact because the people who start them are committed and funds aren’t channeled in too many directions other than to support Staff, Programs, and Projects. Another major reason I applied for this internship is that it’s very close to home. EPCAMR’s office is located adjacent to where the historic Huber Coal Breaker Colliery was located in Ashley, Pennsylvania until April of 2014 and EPCAMR was one of the organizations along with the Huber Breaker Preservation Society to try and save it for historic preservation and to educate area youth on the importance the coal industry played, both positively and negatively in the Anthracite Coal Region. My grandparents live less than a mile from that breaker and I would see it every weekend as a child. I respect that EPCAMR located their office directly adjacent to a source of environmental contamination, the Huber Breaker, and have tried for decades with its partners to salvage the last remaining breaker in the Wyoming Valley.”
A recent short documentary entitled, Beyond the Breaker, is currently on a film festival circuit that discusses the importance of the breaker locally as the community struggled to preserver its identity in the face of apathy and loss, by two EPCAMR Board Members, John Welsh, and Alana Mauger, and also features the work of EPCAMR, the Huber Breaker Preservation Society, Mr. Ray Clarke, and a host of other local community leaders and artists, including Sue Hand from the Back Mountain.
Kyle also reassured EPCAMR of his commitment to the region, when he passionately stated, “I was raised in Northeastern Pennsylvania and want to help clean up the Valley scarred by the past coal mining industry. I know how much coal has damaged the area because I’ve seen it first-hand hiking the mountains, fishing the streams, and driving past the large culm banks that line our roadways and there no other economy at the time of the boom. I am hoping that this internship will provide me with valuable field experience in environmental conservation that I need to better understand how I can make a difference in the local communities that EPCAMR serves throughout the Coal Region. I also am looking forward to learning how EPCAMR, one of the most reputable and respected regional non-profit organizations, operates and builds capacity within Pennsylvania.” Kyle has some experience with controlling invasive species and that is something that will be experienced during our watershed assessment work in the watersheds we will be working in. He has also been an Assistant and Instructor with Bloomsburg University’s Q.U.E.S.T. and has interacted with youth and created a positive growth environment for them through various life skills, leadership development, and outdoor learning experiences.
EPCAMR Executive Director Bobby Hughes mentioned, “Kyle came recommended to me by one of the most respected Environmental Education Specialists for the PA Department of Conservation & Natural Resources (PA DCNR), Diane Madl, from Nescopeck State Park. She and I have been colleagues and educators for 25 years together and if she tells me that someone is a great fit for EPCAMR, there are usually no questions asked. Kyle and I were able to have a video call interview, the first I’ve had to do for an internship due to the pandemic and it went very well. As soon as I saw that we had the same Patagonia hat bearing a familiar logo, I knew he already had a jump start on the internship. I wasn’t looking for a suit and tie interview given the circumstances that we are all under at this time and he presented himself very well. With his background in ArcGIS Pro and 3D Visualizations, I’ll be putting him on the hunt for some data acquisition of publicly available information on the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture that will build on our understanding of the patches and connections that we can make in both the Hunstville and Mill/Gardner Creek watersheds in the Wyoming Valley and Back Mountain. He’s up for the challenge. EPCAMR has had a long, positive relationship with Bloomsburg University and has seen many interns and volunteers come through EPCAMR’s doors over the years. Kyle will be starting officially on the 18th of May.”
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