Mary Castellani Wins the James Applegate Award for Outstanding Student in Wildlife Conservation

Major: Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources

Minor or certificate: Spanish minor, certificate in Environmental Geomatics

Award name: James Applegate Award for Outstanding Student in Wildlife Conservation

Mary is graduating this month with a degree in Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, a minor in Spanish, and a certificate in Environmental Geomatics. She feels fortunate to have had various experiential learning experiences like working in Dr. Russell’s lab preparing bee specimens and monitoring ‘pollinator ports’ for native bees around New York City, performing bird nest monitoring and game camera footage review for a graduate student project in the Maslo Lab, and completing an internship through the Human Ecology Department at Raritan Headwaters Association. Mary found an interest in birds over the last couple years and started the Rutgers Birdwatching Association with a few other passionate classmates. This month, she will be returning to The Wetlands Institute for a second season as a Coastal Conservation Research Program intern studying coastal-breeding birds.