This summer, Rozalia Project learned that the people we work
with make our organization as great as it is. The interns that joined us this summer took our breath away
with their perseverance, integrity, creativity, and professionalism. In every location we visited, our
partners commented on the high quality of the Rozalia Project interns. We would not have been able to pick up
over 40,000 pieces of debris (nor count or sort them) without the tireless
efforts of our interns.
Happily, the interns felt the same. Please read on to see what the interns
had to say when reflecting upon their time with Rozalia Project this
summer:
“Entering
the Rozalia Project late in the summer, I was both excited and anxious. I
wondered if the crew would be intimidating, or the tasks overwhelming. I knew
virtually nothing about sailing! Instead, I was warmly welcomed by the crew,
and indeed, did jump right into work! My responsibilities, although new, were
interesting and fun, and I never felt overwhelmed. After the first week in New
York, I felt comfortable with caring for and driving the ROV and was ready to
learn everything I could about sailing while on American Promise. Rachael, Rebecca and all the crew were so patient and
helpful, I tackled sailing in no time! It’s an exhilarating experience, which
I’m sure I will continue as a hobby. Another activity I’m sure I will never
stop doing, is picking up debris! Just the other day, I found myself collecting
a Styrofoam packing peanut off the ground and whispering under my breath:
“Shipping material” as if another intern was beside me, keeping tally on a
Rozalia Project data sheet. As an action/science intern, I feel that I walked
away with skills that will allow me to reach my career goals, and experiences
and friends that I will never forget. During our last day on American
Promise, as we headed back to Kittery,
Maine with no wind to sail, our spirits were lifted as we encountered a marine
mammal extravaganza of a lifetime! We had Minke whales breach close enough to
look us in the eye, and numerous dolphins and seals gliding past the boat just
feet away from us. It was an amazing end to an equally amazing internship.” – Sarah Kollar
“There
is much about the Rozalia Project that defies characterization. It is tempting
to call the work that I did for Rozalia an internship, but it was really a lot
more than that. While I was on board the American Promise, I was learning,
living, adjusting, and growing in ways that cannot be triggered by a simple
internship. Similarly, it is tempting to describe Rozalia as a conservation
group, but they are actually something more complex. I had the pleasure of
being surrounded by new places, new people, new wildlife, and new ideas for the
duration of my time with the project. I learned how to work and live in tight
quarters with a group of people I barely know, I learned to look at the ocean
and the world in a more critical way, and, perhaps most importantly, I realized
the importance of safeguarding the world’s ocean. Thanks so much!” –Conor Grant
“Things I Learned With the Rozalia
Project
·
Reprovisioning isn’t just a necessity, it’s a skill. Feeding eight people, anticipating the
week’s meals, making sure it will all fit in the reefer, AND that everyone’s
Wheat Thins needs are met isn’t for the faint of heart. That being said, no matter how often
you’ve been, how much you’ve planned out your trip, or how quickly you need to
be done, reprovisioning WILL take three hours, Sam’s Club WILL be overwhelming,
and you WILL get at least seven bags of Veggie Sticks.
·
You have to be a jack-of-all-trades to start and run a
non-profit. The number and range of challenges that Rachael and James, and
consequently all the crew, face each day can, indeed, be daunting. Today, the sump pump stopped working.
Tomorrow we have to go to Staples and make six posters for a booth. Wednesday,
you’re on dinner and have to walk the dogs.
·
Networking is key.
The only way the Rozalia Project (or any non-profit, or any company, or
any person) can grow and progress in the world is to network. Even what seems to be an insignificant
meeting could pan out to be something big. And if it doesn’t, it’s always nice to have 10 more people
in the world telling their friends about the Rozalia Project.
·
Real science takes time and often doesn’t work. Sometimes you have a great idea and get
really excited about testing it and think it’s going to work as soon as you
throw it in the water. When the
Basker took its first plunge, however, this clearly wasn’t the case. Although it takes a while, the
tweaking, testing, and perfecting can be extremely satisfying. You may even
have to get hoisted along the spinnaker pole to make it happen.
·
There is trash in the ocean. A lot. Most of it is small, hard to see by the casual
passerby, and easily consumed by animals.
Even extremely remote locations such as Frenchboro, ME can have their
pristine coastlines ruined by rusty traps, lobster bands made in Canada, and
colorful bits of microfiber.
·
Trash hunting is addicting.
What cleaning up trash lacks in glamour, it certainly makes up for
in fun. Amidst the scenery of the
open ocean or the rocky beaches of Maine, who wouldn’t enjoy bending over and
picking up other people’s litter?! Once you start you literally can’t stop
(especially Kyle!). I was overcome with pride and respect for our team during
the first day of the Frenchboro beach clean-up. Despite incessant rain the
eight of us went to work without a single complaint. We literally had to drag ourselves away from the beach, and
THAT is awesome.
·
We can predict where high densities of trash will be and find
it! One of the
more exciting discoveries during my month on the AP was that trash accumulates
along “tide lines” where two bodies of water either from different currents or
of different temperatures converged to form mats of sticks and seaweed. Our first “tideline” tow collected 384
pieces of plastic! The large lines
we passed on the sail to Frenchboro had bottles, cans and buckets floating on
them. If we can find these
convergence zones and tidelines, we can get even more garbage out of the ocean.
·
Red Solo Cups sink. They may be
great for parties, but these little devils shoot straight to the bottom. It proves that everything we drop into
the water, everything we lazily leave on the dock to get blown into the ocean,
everything we throw on the ground to get swept out with the rain WILL
sink. While it may be out of
sight, out of mind, it still poses problems for our aquatic friends. Without the ROV, how would we know they
were even there?!
·
There is hope for the world. We can clean up the trash! We can use plastics responsibly! We can recycle and properly
dispose of our garbage! And the beauty of it all is that children understand
this! After watching groups of
kids run enthusiastically between the ROV in the Fort Adams basin and the
Rozalia Project tent on shore, gnarly-looking PVC pipe held triumphantly
overhead, I believe that a change will happen. These kids know that we cannot have trash in the ocean. They
know the importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling. They know that their individual actions
will make a difference. This is
what can and will solve the world’s problems, and I am proud to have been a
part of it.” –Blais Hickey
“During my internship I managed
to fall overboard while at a dock, destroy my phone, tell my mom the wrong day
to pick me up and then drop her keys into the ocean! It was by far the most enjoyable internship ever! From
sailing for the first time, to waving at seals, to picking up trash on far away
islands there was no experience quite like it. Even though things may have not gone perfectly, I realized
there’s nothing more valuable then packing up and trying something new. All the crazy
things that will happen along the way just might surprise you.” –Andrew Randazzo
“So
often we, being The Rozalia Project for a Clean Ocean, are described as the
people who pick up trash. And yes,
this is true; we pick up a lot of trash, but we also do so much more than
that. This summer, as part of the
Rozalia Project team, I learned that cleaning the oceans begins with the
removal of one piece of marine debris. While this seems like a basic concept, if you really
think about it if every person in the world picked up one piece of trash a day
(either from land or the water – all trash on land will become trash in the
water), the world would already have over 7 billion less pieces of garbage
littering the surface daily. If we
each picked up more than one, imagine what we could do. As a science/action intern I spent a
large portion of my time working on data sheets, organizing what Rozalia
Project and our partners pick up.
Analyzing these numbers made me realize how much we can really do about
this issue. There was one day
where Marina and I spent about 2 hours cleaning 2 or 3 blocks in Providence, RI
and with just the two of us in this short period of time, we collected close to
900 pieces of garbage. Everyone
knows that marine debris exists, but working with Rozalia Project taught me
that awareness is not the only thing we need. What we, as a population need, is the inspiration to pick up
that wrapper or piece of paper and toss it in a garbage can or a recycling
bin. With Rozalia Project, I feel
that not only do I now have the will to eliminate marine debris, but I feel
that I have also inspired others to do the same.” –Laura Migliaccio
Thanks again for an amazing experience!!! I thought I would share some things I learned and journaled while on American Promise:
1. Don't be afraid to ask questions. If you're learning something new, take advantage of the
opportunity.
2. Keep a positive mindset and positivity will follow.
3. Remember the big picture. All small things and actions are
leading you there.
4. Be spontaneous even if it's scary.
5. Don't loose hope in mankind, inspire children.
6. There is no rush in life, you will reach your goals when
you're ready.
8. Don't be shy, there is no reason to be.
9. Everything happens for a reason.
Hope everyone got home safely and the next round of interns are ready for a once in a life time experience with amazing people! - Marina Maze
Some other anonymous quotes from our interns:
“This experience was significant for me in that I
completely removed myself from every life comfort and familiarity. I put myself
in a totally unfamiliar place and it made me step out of my shell. I became
more confident and have realized I am not as shy as I used to be. It taught me
to take every moment as an opportunity to learn something about myself and
about life.”
“This internship was one of the
best experiences I have had; it is extremely unique. I love that the second you
arrive you jump right in with whatever project is happening in that moment. The
bond that forms between everybody on the boat is so special and you really feel
like an important part of something great.”
“I will continue to be active in
my marine debris removal, just like the Rozalia Project is. I will also not be
afraid to contact organizations that I am interested in and voice my opinion,
or ask to get involved. After the internship, I feel more independent,
flexible, spontaneous, creative and pro-active.”
“This internship helped to
solidify my desire to pursue further education and a future career in
oceanography. It was a great way to test the waters of this field of study.
After spending time on American Promise, I am now also interested in doing
vessel research.”
If you, or know someone who might be interested in an
internship with Rozalia Project, please check the “join us” section on our
website or e-mail Rebecca@rozaliaproject.org.
As always, make sure to “like” us on Facebook, follow us on
Twitter @rozaliaproject, and check out our pictures on
pinterest.com/rozaliaproject to see the excitement of Rozalia Project’s Fall
Tour!
For a Clean Ocean,
Rebecca Inver Moffa
Director of Outreach
Later that afternoon we worked with 10 more students at the
Judd Goldman Sailing Center from the Afterschool Matters program wrapping up
the day with a very intact and useable fishing pole recovery. The next day we journeyed to Philip
Rogers Elementary School where we worked with over 200 students and heard some
great, intriguing questions from the students about marine debris. Following the elementary school,
Rozalia Project went to Chicago Yacht Club to work with 60 high school
sailors. Again, the enthusiastic
students helped us remove over 300 pieces of debris from the land surround the
yacht club and about 20 pieces of debris from the water, a majority of it
plastic cups (yes, many of them with the CYC logo). That evening we presented our work to the Chicago Yacht Club
members who then joined us to remove even more plastic cups from the water
using the ROV.
In the afternoon on Friday, Rachael, our newest intern
Carly, Karen from US sailing and I rigged up our neuston net on a whaler from
Columbia Yacht Club to research floating microplastics in Chicago’s urban
waters of Lake Michigan. We found
very few pieces per square kilometer, though this could be due to the fact that
this is not the busy season for the city and there was an onshore breeze
instead of an offshore breeze. As
always with Rozalia Project, this work was very eye-opening, rewarding and so
much fun. Lake Michigan is a wonderful
place to do research and the shoreline of Chicago is stunning, especially
decked out in Fall colors.
Our final two days in Chicago were spent at Coloumbia Yacht
Club where we worked with students from Rickover Naval Academy, the yacht
club’s junior sailors, and Program Directors who were attending the regional US
Sailing Programs Meeting. Saturday
evening we had another great opportunity to set up a table and work with
participants as part of the US Sailing Speaker Series where Dave Perry came to
discuss racing tactics. Over two
days at Columbia Yacht Club we picked up a shoe, a glove, more plastic bags and
cups and rounded out our visit by removing another chair from the waters around
the yacht club!
