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“You’ve probably heard people talk about conservation. Well, conservation isn’t just the business of a few people. It’s a matter that concerns all of us.” 

Breanna Crowell is Sound River’s Water Quality Management intern for the summer through the Stanback Internship Program. She is a graduate student at Duke University pursuing a Master’s degree in Environmental Management with a concentration in Water Resources Management at the Nicholas School of the Environment.  Her summer project will focus on  sludge and its impacts to the waterways of the Neuse and Tar-Pamlico watersheds.

Breanna grew up north of Atlanta, Georgia and received Bachelor’s degrees in Ecology and Environmental Health Science from the University of Georgia. As a student at UGA (Go Dogs!), Breanna worked as the Watershed intern with the Office of Sustainability to assist with projects focused on improving campus water quality and highlighting the importance of on-campus waterways. In particular, she helped coordinate research and volunteer efforts for an experimental prescribed grazing project using goats to remove invasive plant species along one of the streams.

Prior to returning to school for further education, Breanna gained experience as an environmental educator with Georgia 4-H as well as the Walt Disney Company. Her main interests include watershed management, stream and wetland protection and conservation, ecological restoration, and environmental outreach and education. In the future, she hopes to enter a career either with an environmental consulting firm or possibly with a state environmental agency or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Her favorite conservation-related quote is one by Walt Disney: “You’ve probably heard people talk about conservation. Well, conservation isn’t just the business of a few people. It’s a matter that concerns all of us.”