My experience at Meigs Point Nature Center at Hammonasset Beach State Park was a fruitful one in which I learned about the field of interpretation and scientific research. At the nature center, I served as a park interpreter and the coordinator of Outdoor Explorers, a program for children six to eight years of age. In addition to this responsibility, I planned and lead camp and school group programs, canoe trips, nature walks, live animal demonstrations, nature games and nature workshops, and contributed to the maintenance of displays and feeding of the animals. Before and after my time at the nature center, I collected data for my independent study on salt marsh restoration.

Outdoor Explorers was a very successful program, through which I was able to prepare programs and increase my skills working with children and explaining concepts clearly. Many topics were explored including snakes, plants, salt marshes, rocky beaches, fish, amphibians, and weather. My planning for this program consisted of researching information about the topic. By doing this, I was able to learn a lot about a variety of topics and then solidify this knowledge through teaching. There were a variety of children who attended the program ranging from members of the community, campers and people just at the beach for the day.

The program ran four times a week for an hour and half and the general format of the program was similar every day. We began by making nametags, which enabled us to learn each other's names and to introduce the topic. For example, if we were beginning a program on amphibians, we would draw our favorite amphibian on our nametag, or for a sandy beach ecosystem program, draw something we thought we would see there. This activity served as a good introduction to our topic of the day. After the nametags, we would have a short discussion about our topic, so I could see what the children knew and so they could learn from each other about the topic through a guided conversation. Most days, we took a walk to see what we were talking about. Hammonasset provides a variety of habitats from meadow and woodland to tidal marsh, sandy beach and rocky beach environments, so seeing this first hand was an excellent way to learn. After our exploration of the topic, we came back to the nature center to have a craft or game to solidify concepts and ideas that were learned.

The rest of my time at the nature center was split between answering questions for visitors, leading other programs, and maintaining animals and displays of the center. The nature center is a two level facility with displays, live animals and hands-on activities. In the upper level, there are fish tanks, live reptiles and amphibians, displays covering backyard wildlife, oysters, wetlands, birds, turtles, endangered species, history and intertidal environments. The lower level tends to be more interactive with a 500-gallon touch tank, mystery boxes, a promise tree and several other displays about birds, invertebrates and algae. Outside are a turtle pond, salt marsh display and a beachcombing display. All of these displays and areas require interpretation for the approximately 300 visitors per day. By answering questions, I was challenged to find out more information about the park and its ecosystems.

On a typical day I was responsible for one to two other programs in addition to Outdoor Explorers. Snake Shows and Touch Tank Demonstrations were more formal presentations with live animals that occurred inside the nature center with a wide variety of audiences. Many camp and school groups came through the nature center, serving over 2,000 visitors. These scheduled groups had programs in the nature center with turtles, snakes and the touch tank, went to the rocky beach, sandy beach and salt marsh ecosystems, or to the wooded Willard's Island. Canoe trips, bike hikes, nature workshops, nature games and nature walks also ran throughout the summer and I was consistently responsible for those general public programs as well. At night, there were evening programs in the campground where larger groups of a hundred or more came to see live snakes, nature superheroes, go on a night hike or learn about owls. Several nature center interpreters were needed to serve all of the campers attending these programs.

Another big component of my summer experience at Hammonasset was my independent research project aimed at learning how marsh restoration affects invertebrate populations. In the morning before I went to the nature center, or after my day at the center, I would collect data for my salt marsh restoration study at a nearby area of the park. I was looking at two locations, one with tidal flow and one without tidal flow due to separation by a walkway. I was collecting invertebrates from this area to determine whether those in a restored location were different from the invertebrates in an unrestored location. This project was done by measuring out a 50 meter transect and taking samples in 0.5 square meter plots every five meters along the transect. I made observations about the percent cover of plant species within the plot and then collected invertebrates. The lower level of grass from each plot was put in a bag for thorough examination later in the day to look for more invertebrates. I intend to continue my work as an independent study this fall.

This internship was definitely a successful experience in which I was able to learn extensively about the field of environmental interpretation and field research. Through my Outdoor Explorers Program, I was able to learn about the ecosystems I was studying in Connecticut College, and teach what I had learned to others in creative ways. Through other programs and experiences at the nature center, I was able to improve my public speaking skills and learn valuable lessons about interpretation of a state park. By conducting an independent study, I was able to learn research techniques, learn about tidal marsh restoration and determine that I liked biological research. This was an excellent opportunity that I would strongly recommend to any future program participants.