July 5, 2023 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
The NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office is once again hosting students from around the country for 12-week summer internships. Our interns gain knowledge and experience, and we benefit from having additional talented staff members for the summer.
Each intern focuses on a needed project that might not otherwise happen due to time and resource constraints. So every intern’s project contributes to the health of the Chesapeake! And every intern works closely with mentors who provide guidance for their Chesapeake Bay-focused projects and collaborates with our experts.
We partner with the Chesapeake Research Consortium to make these internships possible, including collaborating with them on the Chesapeake Student Recruitment, Early Advisement, and Mentoring program. This program supports students who are underrepresented in their field of study.
What Does Habitat Mean to You?
Because of our strong interest in healthy habitat, we asked each of our interns to share what they think of when they think of “habitat”:
Claire
I think about habitat not only as a physical environment, but the conditions and relationships that make flourishing possible. To me, habitat means home.
Catherine
This has always been a difficult question for me since, throughout my life, habitat has had many different definitions. However, out of all the definitions, the one I connected with the most was a location providing an organism with all the necessary conditions for survival.
Emma C.
I would say a place that something calls home. My habitat is probably a coffee shop with lots of books, or a library.
Emily
To me, “habitat” means an environment where an organism can thrive—where its physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual needs are being met. This way it can grow and reach its full potential as an organism!
Emma V.
I grew up in New York City on the twelfth floor of a Manhattan apartment building. There is a nesting pair of peregrine falcons in the church across the street and we have some fearless rats in the subways. I used to think that only pristine mountains and beaches were habitats, but now I realize that my home city is also a habitat that supports all sorts of wacky and unique ecosystems. It has also been an important shift to realize that humans are part of ecosystems and therefore the spaces that support human life are habitats too.
Let’s learn more about this year’s talented class of interns!