Maria is a resident of Luzerne County, born and raised in Kingston, PA. Her academic and professional pursuits led her to state of Texas where she graduated from University of Texas at El Paso in 2022. Shortly after, she moved to Austin, Texas, to serve with the Texas Conservation Corps as an AmeriCorps member with their Conservation and Disaster Crew.
During her term of service, she engaged in projects throughout Texas that included trail maintenance and construction, invasive plant species removal, basic carpentry, and backcountry camping. Although she fell in love with the hands-on aspects of land stewardship, she also wanted to learn the more technical side of conservation work.
This led her to discover and pursue an education in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Currently enrolled in an online GIS course through Austin Community College, Maria is excited to put her skills to use to help the efforts of EPCAMR and her local coalfield communities. “My experience in GIS so far has mostly involved map making, creating story maps, and data analysis, so I’m very excited to gain skills in scanning, digitizing, cataloging, georeferencing, and mapping for the PA Department of Environmental Protection’s Mine Subsidence Insurance (MSI) program. This internship is an opportunity to gain these hands-on skills, while also being able to learn from some of the most well respected and experienced GIS professionals here at EPCAMR.” For instance, she has created a previous data analysis dashboard on World Happiness. From the looks of it, we can use more happiness in the US.
Bobby Hughes, EPCAMR Executive Director said, “She is a detail-oriented professional with a strong
background in outreach, GIS, and conservation. She already has a proven track record and expertise with coordinating AmeriCorps Programs, managing outreach initiatives, is moving in the direction of building her technical skill sets in GIS, which is exactly what we are looking for. We have plenty of work to be done in the Mine Subsidence Insurance Program area of our work on scanning, catalouging, georeferencing, digitizing, and mosaicking. Her resume shined with skills in project management, social media content creation, and event coordination. These are all great skills to have as an intern. She’s a problem solver and a team player, both qualities we need here at EPCAMR since we are a small shop and tend to be the ones helping others in our communities to help them solve environmental problems. Her fluency in Spanish at an intermediate level may come in handy as well knowing how may students and families we come in contact with throughout our region that speak Spanish.”
Maria is seen here at a farm-to-table restaurant in Antigua, Guatelmala.
Maria even has certifications from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations as an Apprentice Electrician, Wilderness First Aid, and a Green Careers Texas Solar Installer.
Maria Gereda is learning how to fell a tree as a part of her Texas Conservation Corps term.
Maria will have plenty of opportunity over the Summer to pick up and assist EPCAMR with our many projects throughout the region and improve upon her GIS skills as well as learn much more about the legacy mining impacts in the region.
We look forward to her giving us a hand, just as we are our Bonner Leader Program student, from Wilkes University, Ian Padden. He is able to give us 2 days a week and she is able to give us 3 days a week.
She’s already starting scanning and cataloging some of the Industrial Archives Library mining maps, Shickshinny Creek Historical Society & Museum mine maps from the E.S. Stackhouse Collliery and Salem Coal Company, and will be starting to get her Aquatic Organism Protocol (AOP) Training through NAACC to eventually become certified and later a Lead Observer to survey bridges and culverts as a part of our watershed assessement and coldwater heritage planning work for the Shickshinny Creek, PaddyRun, and Rocky Run tribuaries to the Susquehanna River in the southern end of the Wyoming Valley at the southern tip of the Northern Anthracite Coal Fields.
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