As a senior at UD, Jennifer interned with the Water Resources Agency in Newark and used a grant to help develop the UD Experimental Watershed as an on-campus research and educational tool for university researchers, students, local teachers and the public.  While working on this project, Jennifer realized the importance of watershed management and the impact of multiple uses.   She says “while growing up I’ve always tried to be aware of the environment around me, but it wasn’t until I helped to design and develop the experimental watershed that I began to understand the dynamics of watersheds and the critical need for watershed management.  Trying to find the solutions to improve watershed quality is like a puzzle, it’s easier to work on small sections here and there before you can finish the picture, (or find the solution to a big-multi-level problem)!”

After graduating and a short “rest”, Jennifer returned to the University as an assistant researcher in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, where she conducted a literature review on agriculture best management practices and nutrient loadings.  Her goal was to help determine how much the implementation of BMPs may help to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus loadings in the Inland Bays.  She found the solution to that problem is as unique as Delaware!  Most recently Jennifer has been working for a small, private consulting firm in Northern Virginia as a NEPA analyst.  Her tasks included helping to research and write environmental impact statements and assessments on agriculture assistance programs for the Farm Services Agency.

Jennifer is happy to be back in Delaware and is looking forward to working in the Watershed Assessment Section with the Tributary Action Teams to help find solutions for improving the quality of Delaware’s watersheds.