Feature: Hannah Kennedy
We’d like to introduce Hannah Kennedy, the subject of our second weekly feature. Grant studied abroad with Hannah in Australia during the Fall of 2013, and we were lucky enough to be joined by her and several other friends from Australia during our time in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Hannah’s visit took place near the beginning of our expedition, and she enthusiastically participated in our first beach survey and cleanup of the trip, on Vessup Beach near Red Hook, St. Thomas. I think we picked up over 250 cigarette butts that day. Such fun.
Anyway, following her visit to the boat, she traveled on to one of the smaller Florida Keys where she currently does some pretty cool work in marine environmental education. Thanks for sharing your work with us, Hannah!
Hello!
I graduated a year ago from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Zoology, Environmental Studies, and Conservation Biology. I have had a love for the ocean for as long as I can remember, and first had the opportunity to further my interests while studying abroad in Australia.
I had the opportunity to join Grant and Henry for part of their adventure back in December, when they stopped in the US Virgin Islands. While aboard, we snorkeled around the islands and conducted a beach clean up in St Thomas. We collected over 40 pounds of trash and made the beach look beautiful!
In February I moved on to the Florida Keys, where I am now interning at The Pigeon Key Foundation and Marine Science Center in Marathon, FL. It is a non-profit organization that focuses on environmental education, conservation, and research. I teach kids from 4th grade to seniors in high school from all over the country about marine life and take them snorkeling, go kayaking through mangroves, lead them in shark fishing, and do invertebrate collections. Our teaching is very hands-on and is a fun way to get kids involved in marine science.
For more information about what this Foundation does, visit our website at: http://www.pigeonkey.net/Home.html or check us out on Facebook!
I had an amazing time with Grant and Henry on their boat. It was fun to view the great things they are doing and I look forward to seeing more from them!
– Hannah