12 Jul See you soon Fire Island!

It’s been officially two weeks since I arrived in Long Island, New York and I can probably say it’s been the longest two weeks ever! Due to Covid-19 and for everyone’s safety, the governor of New York had to set a travel advisory that stated all outside visitors or returning New Yorkers from states that have a high degree of community-wide spread of Covid-19 must quarantine for two weeks.
Throughout my stay here I have felt a mix of emotions: excitement, eagerness, anxiousness, but more than all-happy to finally be one step closer to being at Fire island. Before arriving here I did not know what to expect but the outcome was more than I could ask for! The first week was filled with phone introductions with the Fire island staff, they were all so welcoming and made me feel like part of the team from the start. Kathy Krause, my supervisor, was the most attentive of all; she gave me plenty of orientation reading to get a head start on and we talked on the phone every other day about the island’s history and ecosystems and brainstormed ideas of what my first projects can be. LHIP also had a few webinars and zoom chats so it was nice to see the other interns and talk about their experience with their projects and parks. The second week looked a lot like the first but time seemed to go slower as the days went by. My eagerness to be at the park grew stronger by the minute and now that I’m on my last day of quarantine you can’t imagine the feelings I am feeling right now! I’m ready to work and more than anything be outside again!

The next few weeks will be filled with lots of adventure. I will be training with Kathy and the interpretation staff around the island and shadowing rangers to learn more about the park. I will be working on my Latino Conservation Week social media awareness event and start on some English to Spanish program translations for the park, so it will be a busy rest of the month. Although this season the park will be doing a lot of things differently from what they have done before, they have been able to come up with some amazing ideas for programs and events that I can’t wait to share with you guys soon.

Till next time!

– JG

I’d like to say thank you to the Fire island Staff and LHIP team for making my quarantine as comfortable as possible! I am grateful for all that you have done for me so far.

Good luck to the other interns and have a great summer!