My experience as a CRI intern

Hafa Adai! My name is Amanda Maria W. Santos. I graduated from Kagman High School, Class of 2011. I am the former president of Kagman High School Marine Biology Club and I heard about the Coral Reef Initiative Summer Internship from my school counselor. On June 6, 2011, I began my first day of work as an intern for Rachel Zuercher, Non-Point Source Pollution Coordinator at the Coastal Resources Management Office.

Non-point source pollution, also called NPS pollution, happens when rainwater runs over land and picks up pollutants such as chemical waste, trash, or sediments and dumps them into lakes, streams, and ocean waters. For this internship I have four major projects: NPS Calendar for Contractors (BMP-of-the-month), Coral Reef Intern Discussion Group, MINA Bin Cleanup, and the development of Wetland Outreach materials.

The calendar for contractors will feature an environmental best management practice (BMP) each month. It will be made for contractors in hopes that they will use some of the BMPs and erosion and run-off will occur less frequently. BMPs to be featured in the calendar include: permeable parking areas, rain gardens and silt fencing among others.

I coordinate a weekly Coral Reef Intern Discussion Group. The purpose of the discussion group is for the interns to learn about the work of their peers and mentors. Our discussions are every Tuesday either at the CRM, DEQ, or DFW’s conference room. The leaders for every discussion group are the mentors, and so far the issues we discussed are Ocean Acidification, resource management at Lao Lao Bay, and traditional environmental knowledge in the Pacific and CNMI.

Additionally, I coordinate beach cleanups for three beaches where CRM sponsors recycling bins: PauPau, Laly 4, and Coral Ocean Point. The first cleanup was on June 24, 2011, at Coral Ocean Point. We noticed how effective the trash bins at this beach are, as the bins were full and trash along the beach was minimal.

For wetland education, I have created a Jeopardy game for students to educate them about wetlands we have in the CNMI. I am also working on other wetlands activities for elementary students. In addition to my other projects, I participate in internship activities such as a reef flat surveys at Bird Island Sanctuary, PakPak Beach and Susupe Beach Park.

Working as an intern at CRM has been such a great experience for me. It made me come to a decision in what I should major in—Natural Resources Management. I would definitely recommend this internship to other students who are interested in marine life.