Hispanic Access Foundation Intern, Kelsey Mackey, does it all through outreach and environmental education with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Be sure to join us all summer as we hear from our interns about their work and experience.

My name is Kelsey Mackey, and I am graduating from the University of Connecticut in July 2017 with a Bachelor’s degree in biological sciences. Currently, I am a cross-programmatic intern for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service through the Hispanic Access Foundation. My love for wildlife and passion for conservation developed at a young age, and I continue to epitomize these values both personally and professionally. I connect on a personal level with the mission of the Service – to work with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.

I am grateful and excited for the opportunity to make an impact in urban and underrepresented communities through community outreach and environmental education. During my time at the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge, which represents the Connecticut River Watershed, I will be involved in the Sustainable Springfield Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership that aligns with the Service’s Urban Wildlife Conservation Program. Specific outreach events include Cops & Bobbers, Hooks & Ladders youth fishing program, designed to teach kids to fish, connect with the outdoors, and develop positive relationships with law enforcement in their communities, and community block parties designed to engage, educate, and inspire people to become environmental stewards in their own community.

In addition to actively participating in the Sustainable Springfield Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership events, I will also work for the Richard Cronin Aquatic Resource Center. Current research at the center includes glochidia propagation in an effort to restore native populations of mussels throughout the Connecticut River Watershed. As a cross-programmatic intern, I will also have the opportunity to work in the Service’s Northeast Regional Office in External Affairs, where I will work on projects in communications and the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program. My overarching goal is to educate and inspire communities to work together in collective action to ensure a bright future where both people and wildlife can thrive and coexist.