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Summer Youth Outreach: NE CSC's Toni Lyn Morelli Works with Girls, Inc.

Sunday, August 21, 2016
Toni Lyn Morelli speaking with girls about wildlife and climate change.  Photo: Susannah Lerman, USFS

This summer, NE CSC Research Ecologist Toni Lyn Morelli and US Forest Service Research Ecologist Susannah Lerman, both UMass Adjunct Assistant Professors, worked with a a group of middle school girls for two days in an activity to band songbirds and talk about the effects of climate change on urban wildlife.

They were rewarded by enthusiastic students who were eager to hold and measure birds, despite the summer heat.  The girls were part of the Eureka! summer STEM experience program put together by Girls Inc. of Holyoke, Massachusetts.  Girls Inc. enables girls to learn, develop resiliency, get involved with their communities, build friendships, and strengthen their capabilities as critical thinkers.  Toni Lyn and Susannah volunteered to lead this two-day activity to give the girls a hands-on experience with wildlife while building skills for the next generation to contribute to solutions that address climate change.  

 

 

 "It was inspiring to see the girls go from nervous to excited about seeing and holding birds, and their knowledge about climate change was impressive." - Toni Lyn Morelli