outreach

The Young Women's Leadership School of East Harlem

Overview

Most students graduate and leave you alone, but some students graduate and never leave alone. Susan Vincent is an excellent example of the latter! Susan was in my Marine Ecology course in the summer of 1998 and she then went on to complete a BS and MS at Smith College. Afterwards, she took a position teaching Earth Science and Marine Science at The Young Women's Leadership School of East Harlem (TYWLS). Since 2004, Susan has been bringing a group of her science students down to New Orleans to collaborate on different research projects in my lab and to engage in service learning activities. These projects include:

  • Evaluating quality of Phragmites marshes in the Mississippi River delta as habitat for fishes and other nekton.
  • Comparing the habitat quality of Spartina, mangrove, and artificial shorelines for fishes and other nekton at Fourchon, Louisiana.
  • Introducing mosquitofish into abandoned swimming pools in New Orleans to help control mosquito populations following Hurricane Katrina.
  • Planting vegetation in and around a stream that has been restored to provide habitat for the endangered Okaloosa darter.

 

Photos of the TYWLS girls in action

Spring 2004

Participants: Kristin Hornedo, Ileana Garcia, and Alicia Crosby

Group in Phragmites

 

Ileana and Kristin checking minnow traps

 

Ileana in Phragmites

 

Kristin, Alicia, and Ileana having mud fight

 

 

Spring 2005

Participants: Elyse Rodriguez, Natalie Cortez, Shanika Boyd, Sharlene Cobb, Christine DeJesus

Group on the beach

 

Christine throwing cast net

 

Christine and Elyse collecting habitat data

 

Natalie and Shanika retrieving minnow traps

 

 

Spring 2006

Participants: Diana Araiza, Sade Lake, Elise Irizarry, Shannel Dawson, Teana White, Ingrid Sotelo, and Veronica Vasquez

Group inspecting skanky swimming pool

 

Teana and Sade collecting fish from swimming pool

 

Group with Senator Mary Landrieu in Ninth Ward

 

Teana, Sade, and Diana sampling skanky pool

 

Shannel extracting invertebrates from benthic sample

Fieldwork can be a little dangerous...

 

Spring 2007

Participants: Jennifer Muriel, Melissa Santaella, Dalibell Ferreira, Mashkura Chowdhury, Cathya Solano, Cynthia LaGuerre, and Desiree Colon

Group shot

 

Dalibell collecting habitat data

 

Jennifer planting aquatic vegetation

 

Mashkura doing the mashed potato dance

 

A little fun at the beach

A new friend we met at Audubon Zoo

Cynthia collecting habitat data

 

Desiree and Jennifer collecting habitat data

 

 

Spring 2008

Participants: Mashkura Chowdhury, Dalibell Ferreira, Eva Diaz, Cynthia LaGuerre, Sonia Luna, Jessamyn Martinez, Ashley Moore, Ashley Rodriguez, and Jessica Sinchi

Eva and Dalibel handling minnow traps

 

Ashley, Cynthia, Jessica, Eva, Ashley,and Mashkura with dinner

 

Ashley, Cynthia, Sonia, and Frank heading out

 

Jessamyn, Ashley, Sonia, and Ashley sorting samples

 

Life is hard...

 

Cynthia, Sonia, and Jessica with catch of the day

 

Mashkura building goat house

 

A fine looking goathouse, eh?