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Title
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Polly Richter
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Type
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Primary: Teacher Argonaut
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Operation
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Resilient Planet
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Mission:
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Mission 1: Invaders , Mission 2: Survivors
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Created On
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3/10/2008
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From: Resilient Planet Mission 1: Invaders , Mission 2: Survivors |
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Polly Richter Read more about Polly Richter, a Teacher Argonaut from Operation: Resilient Planet. |
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Polly Richter
Teacher Argonaut,
Oakdale, CT
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Polly says she is passionate about science education, but helping students succeed in life is even more important to her. She was inspired by her son, a former Student Argonaut, and one of her students, also an Argonaut, to apply to be part of this JASON experience. She feels that being a Teacher Argonaut puts her in a unique position, in one case, a parent, and in the other, a teacher that will help her be a good leader to students during the Operation: Resilient Planet Missions.
She feels that she has a lot to offer especially in the area of fieldwork. Polly has built many field experiences for her school and community. These experiences also include working with partners, such as The Nature Conservancy, where she worked for 18 years; Project Oceanology; the Environmental Protection Agency; the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection; the Connecticut River Salmon Association; the Atlantic Salmon Federation; the Lyme Land Trust; and the Lyme Garden Club. Polly looks forward to using her experience as a Teacher Argonaut with JASON to expand the reach of environmentally-based education. She is not sure where the experience of being a Teacher Argonaut will take her, but she is sure of this: it will stimulate many new ideas and have good and unexpected outcomes. She loves to build on life experiences, especially as they help young people.
In her own words
On her Operation: Resilient Planet experiences
It was great to start meeting and working with our new Student Argonauts, all of whom are supercharged, ready to go! We all met at the airport, playing cards and telling stories, waiting for the late arrivals. We got to work later that evening figuring out the scientific question for Boot Camp: What are the abiotic and biotic factors that support life? By the next morning, we were on site, collecting critters, sampling water, learning about Milwaukee’s ecosystems, and building the skills we would need for our missions.
Thoughts on Dr. Russell Cuhel
Some years ago I worked with another team on an investigation of a Long Island Sound estuary back in my home state. It is fascinating now for me to compare the equipment, methods, and outcome of the JASON research we’re currently doing, under the guidance of Dr. Russell Cuhel, with zebra mussels in the freshwater Great Lakes. Some devices are very similar, but I am especially interested in the ability of the equipment aboard the Neeskay to quickly graph the data directly from the sampling devices to the computer, making it instantly usable. It took me untold hours to do this by hand on that previous investigation. Now with Dr. Cuhel, as it did back then, lab work and research reports followed, but I enjoy that too. It is an opportunity to make sense of the data we collected and relate it to the bigger picture of what’s happening to our aquatic planet.
On graduation to a JASON Mission
At graduation, I was thrilled beyond measure to be selected for the JASON Mission in the Flower Gardens National Marine Sanctuary, studying the geology of the sea bottom and the life in the deep coral sea with none other than Dr. Bob Ballard. It was equally exciting to welcome the students who would join me on this expedition: Chirag, Brittany, and Conrad. What a journey it will be!
Thoughts on Dr. Robert Ballard
We were profoundly fortunate to be able to work with Dr. Robert Ballard. He is the most inspirational person I know. His words and accomplishments have challenged me to try some things I’ve never done before, to take risks I didn’t think I could, to accept failure as something to learn from, and to continue to share my passion for science with young people. It is a great privilege to be able to spend this handful of days at sea under his guidance in a place of such beauty and diversity.
What JASON means to me
I think that in order to want to save the special places on the Earth, it is necessary first to love them, which is one of the many reasons I am so grateful we are here with JASON. I wish all young people could have the opportunity to learn to love the Earth in this way: to be out in the wild, experiencing the beautiful and interesting places, being creative, experimenting, and testing their limits.
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