It is finally coming to an end...

Since May 25th I have called Aiken South Carolina my temporary home. As of tomorrow afternoon, I will be heading back to my real home in Palm Harbor, Florida. This has been a wonderful experience and I truly enjoyed being apart of this program and meeting all the wonderful teachers and interns. From white water rafting to hiking in nature parks to canoeing in national parks and watching wildlife through binoculars has made this experiences one that I will always remember.
This will be the last time I blog on this site.
Thanks for a wonderful two months SRS and Aiken!
See you another time,
Brittany

Presentation..

Today, I had my final exam for my pollution control class and I presented my presentation for the Wetland Aquatic and Ecology class. Overall, the past two months has been a wonderful experience. I truly have been blessed to have this opportunity and I am very thankful to be a part of this program. I have met some awesome teachers and peers during this experience. My fellow interns have been so awesome and supportive over the past 2 months. I appreciate all their time. It has been a long 2 months but I can't wait to go home to my wonderful family, friends and boyfriend back at home.

For the final and last time,
Brittany

Frogs, Snakes and Gators.. OH MY!

Today was a great day at the SRS Ecology Lab. We got the chance to hold with various types of frogs, turtles, snakes and baby alligators. We learned about the research some of the students and facility is working on. They are truly an inspiration to many of us. I enjoyed my morning learning about the many types of poisonous and non poisonous snakes. We saw 5 species of poisonous snakes up close in person. We also saw a huge gator in the pond and we had the chance to watch it eat a mid morning snack.

Now, I have an exam at 2pm. Wish me luck.
I'll be home in 3 days. YEAH!
Yours truly,
Brittany

Zoo.....

Today was a fun and hot day at the zoo.
I saw a bunch of animals and we learned about the composting that the zoo does to save money and to be more efficient. I did some shopping in the gift shop.
I had an icee (which I was waiting to have forever)
Overall it was a great day, now I just have to focus. A lot of work within the next few days.

Yours truly, Brittany

Congaree

Congaree National Park was awesome. I started with canoeing first along the swamp wetland area. We saw a barn owl, black vulture and various turtles along the way.
Thanks to our wonderful teachers, Dr. CK and Dr. Wierda we had a wonderful lunch provided to us. After that, I went in the gift shop and spoke to one of the rangers that I met last time I was at Congaree about birding on the trails. My group ventured off into the wild in hopes of learning on the boardwalk trails. We learned about various plants and trees. We saw a white and black warbler and a Carolina wren. We saw two birds that were hard to identify including a woodpecker and a small perching bird. With that said, I had a great time talking to my friend "Hoot" the owl. I learned in my previous wildlife and management class how to call birds. I had the owl calling back and forth to me but was unable to spot the animal. Still, it was a great experience. I was so tired when I got home that I crashed the second my head hit that pillow. Today is going to be along day of work.

Yours truly,
Brittany

Save the waters!!!!

everyone should watch this and stop littering. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLrVCI4N67M
together we can save our waterways! Stop being so lazy and clean up after yourself to save our environment and animals.

I can do anything better than you!

Yesterday was very eventful. We went to the Ecotours and learned about various animals and wetlands in the area. It was very educational. I learned about various bird life at this trip and the types of rivers that are ecological important to this area. I also spotted an alligator... TWICE. (Which I was so happy to show the rest of the group) The captain also let some of the interns drive the boat for a few minutes. I decided to drive it for a little while. Later in the day, we went to eat lunch and saw a nice hill to climb down. Some of us decided to climb down the hill and go to see the water. I climbed down the hill and started to swing on a branch of a tree. Very cool!
I decided to skip rocks with Derek.
Today, we went to the Three Rivers Landfill which was interesting to see how this organization works to eliminate trash and recycle. We had our second exam today and I am hoping to have a productive week as I have much work to do over the next 10 days before this internship comes to an end.
Your truly,
Brittany

Vogtle Electric Generating Plant

Today, we went to the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant in Burke County, Georgia. We learned about the various types of facilities located on this plant as well as places throughout the world. The one main thing that I learned was the fact that cooling towers actually release water vapor. I was always worried that plants released a lot pollution from that white smoke. Actually it gives off water vapor. The majority of the stations are run by coal. The United States have 104 plants and the plants are located on lands and seas. It was a very educational and informational day. Later this evening, we had lecture. It was a extremely long day but I enjoyed learning at this facility since I have never been at a facility like this before.
These next 12 days will be very busy but I'm ready to take on this challenge.

Yours truly,

Brittany

Rainbows after rainstorms

Today Friday July 16, 2010, my pollution class went out to SRS to have class and lectures. We learned about air pollution. The picture was taken a few days ago when we had a massive rainstorm. This is the view from after the rainstorm from my window a pretty rainbow. =)
This is a small segment from my take home exam and my experience as a water droplet in the hydrological cycle. Enjoy:

The hydrological cycle plays an important role in my life. Without the hydrologic cycle, I would not be able to travel and see the world with my water droplet friends. Depending on the time of the year, we are able to transform ourselves as rain or snow flakes. I always make sure I am near the northern states during the winter months. I enjoy falling down as a snowflake. Once temperatures cool down and we are able to transform into snowflakes, we have to watch out for these massive beasts down on land. The massive monsters get enjoyment and satisfactory by catching us with their wet long tongues. I had a close snowflake friend one time get dissolved right in front of me by these foreign human creatures on Earth. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to deal with losing a friend so young and full of life. That is just the natural way of life for a water droplet.

Yours truly,
Brittany

Work, Work, Work All Day Long

On Tuesday July 13, 2010 my wetland aquatic and ecology class had our first exam and then we went to the library to learn how to use information online for our papers. This was very helpful. Later in the afternoon, we took a ride to the Savannah River Site to learn about the various locations at their facility. They are conducting a massive cleanup project and constructing various buildings to store the chemicals made back in the day during the Cold War. It was very interesting to see the site up close in person as we drove around in the tour bus.
On Wednesday, July 14, 2010 my Pollution Control class will be starting our next topic for lectures and discussions which is air quality. Today we are going to watch “An Inconvenient Truth” movie. I have seen this movie many times in high school. Each time, it opens my eyes to new ideas. Personally, I feel the idea of global warming should be considered global climate change.
I am so grateful to have tomorrow off as I have to work on two take home tests and my final scientific papers. This picture shows the books I plan to read tomorrow on my day off while I am at the gym and doing laundry.
Yours truly,
Brittany

American Robin Nest

Today, Monday July 12, 2010, my pollution control class had its first exam about water pollution. Personally, I like the fact that our teacher decided to give us 2 take home essays worth 100 points and only 50points in class exam. Later in the afternoon, we went to the library at Gregg- Graniteville Library and Kaetrena helped us learn how to use scientific journals and databases. While we were in the computer lab, Jennifer, our Teacher Assistant happened to walk past the window and saw a nest of baby robins. VERY COOL! That is the picture of the day. J

(Updates on last week: On Saturday July 10 our wetland and ecology class went to class at 8:15am to gather around calling Congaree National Park in hopes of scheduling a kayak and nature hike tour. Since the kayak and hike tour is free many people call for many hours trying to get a hold of someone to schedule this tour. It is also limited to only a certain amount of people each weekend. Luckily, Allie got the winning call. She was able to reach someone and we were able to make this happen. Everyone that showed up this morning got extra credit on our next exam. YES! Our class lectured for a little while. I did some errands in the afternoon and met with my partner to work on our project. We accomplished a lot that day. On Sunday, I spent my day studying in small study groups for my upcoming 2 exams and working on my papers. I feel very accomplished this weekend. )



Yours truly,

Brittany

Field Work.

On July 8, 2010 my wetland class ENV 495 went out into the field at SRS and got wet in the wetlands. We went to various locations using our GPS to find water and keeping our eyes on the various types of wildlife. This was my first time exploring the SRS site. I enjoyed the field trip today expect the heat. We will be doing lectures on Saturday. Dr. CK has a wonderful month planned for us to go to Silver Bluff Audubon Center and Congaree National Park. (Both I have already visited with my wildlife management class last month) Hopefully we will be able to kayak at the Congaree National Park.
On July 9, 2010, the ENV 490 class went to the City of Augusta Waste Water Treatment Plant. It was a hot day and I felt really sick towards the end of the trip as my body was telling me I needed to rest. The heat index according to someone in class using their phone said it was close to 117 degrees. I live in Florida but having no breeze and no shade really affected my experience at the trip. I learned the various types of stages the waste water plant has including the aeration tanks, clarifying tanks and the removal of the solids. Overall, I thought this affected the pollution class as it is important to know how to treat our waste. I spoke with Marie, one of the employees at the site about the effects when a hurricane comes or a major rain storm. The emergency response and the training that goes into effect at a waste water treatment site. I couldn’t imagine what happened to New Orleans and the cleanup effort they are doing to restore the city after the Hurricane Katrina. We had a pop quiz after this and personally it was so hard to focus since I wasn’t feeling good all day.
I have 2 upcoming exams the beginning of next week so I will be focusing a lot on studying and writing my papers this weekend. I have loved this experience and I am so grateful to be a part of this program. To be honest, I can’t wait to get back home to my family, friends and my boyfriend. I really miss them and feel home sick. 21 days and counting….
Yours truly,
Brittany

Just another day in Aiken, South Carolina

To be honest, I feel extremely overwhelmed this session. I know this is a fast pace moving class and internship but there is so much work to be done in the next few weeks. By staying positive I plan to continue to move in the right direction with these classes.
On July 6, 2010, my wetlands and aquatic ecology class started off learning exactly what a wetland is composed of. It was interesting to learn that ocean water makes up 97% of the total water in the world and the majority of freshwater is composed of 79%. I also learned about the hydrologic cycle which plays an important role in the wetland areas. I choose my topic for the poster, paper and presentation with my partner Zi. We decided to focus on land use/ human destruction and the laws that are in affect to restore the Everglades National Park in southern Florida. This really hits home to me since I live in the Tampa Bay region.
On July 7, 2010, my Principles of Pollution Control class learned many valuable concepts about the unifying theories including conservation of matter, conservation of energy and conservation of matter and energy. This class also focused on the hydrologic cycle as this cycle plays an important role in surface runoff and groundwater contamination. We had a lecture regarding pollutants including oxygen demanding materials, pathogenic organisms, suspended solids, salts, toxic metals and toxic compounds, endocrine- disruptor chemicals, and heat which plays a major part in agricultural runoff, urban runoff and industrial runoffs. In this class we were able to pick our topic on the principles of ecotoxicology including inorganic ions, organic pollutants, organometallic pollutants, radioactive isotopes, and gaseous pollutants. I choose to do my paper, presentation and poster on gaseous pollutants in major cities and the effect on the public.

July 4th and July 5th

Being away from family and friends yesterday was extremely difficult. I was extremely disappointed I could not go home for the weekend due to the outrage costs of plane tickets. It would have been too much money to drive home as it would take over 10 hours to get home so I decided to stay at USC- Aiken. It was so nice of Dr. CK and Dr. Wierda to put together a wonderful event on July 4th. We played many rounds of volleyball, grilled hot dogs, went to the swimming pool and watched a wonderful fireworks show by Dr. CK and Dr. Wierda. I was so grateful to participate in this as it was such a great relaxing time to mingle with the other interns and celebrate a holiday on campus. The food was wonderful we had hot dogs, watermelon, corn, chips, beans, and drinks. Allie (my roommate) and I decided to bake cupcakes with red, white and blue sprinkles. They turned out very good. This was an exciting way to start of this session.
Today in ENV 490: Principles of Pollution Control we learned about many sources of pollution in Dr. Wierda’s lecture. We watched a very educational movie called Poisoned Waters. After getting back to my dorm, I reflect on the movie and the lecture. I am still in shock that so many companies will not step up and take responsibilities for their actions regarding outflows of pollution from their organizations. This movie made me think that when I get older I will definitely look into background checks of the areas before I purchase a piece of land as I do not want to purchase land with contamination or high levels of PCB’s.
Keep following my blog.
Yours truly,
Brittany

Principles of Pollution Control

Today my ENV: Principles of Pollution Control went to the SE National Science Academy. We learned about water quality regulation, wetlands and pollution laws. The various types of wetlands we learned about included swamps, marsh, salt water marsh, bogs, Carolina bays and Midwest prairies. Alaska is the most diverse United States followed by Louisiana then Florida. The 3 main characteristics of a wetland include the presence of water, plant diversity and soil hydrogenetic. The soil at the wetland site was clay. We then got into the water with our waders and found various types of organisms include: caddisfly larvae, mayfly larvae, grilled snail, riffle beetle adult, beetle larvae, clams, crayfish, damselfly larvae, dragonfly larvae, scud, midge larvae, air- breathing snail, ghost shrimp, and aquatic mite. Some of the wildlife we saw included: wood ducks, great egrets, immature little blue heron, cattle egrets, snowy egrets, Carolina wren, and red winged blackbird. We also saw a hilly billed slider turtle near the side of the road. It was a wonderful day out in the field and I can’t wait for the next upcoming weeks in this class.

My video- Session 1

New Start!

Hello Everyone,
This week concluded Session 1. I truly enjoyed this experience so far and I look forward to the following session. I will be taking ENV 490 and ENV 495 this session. Today my ENV 495 Wetland Aquatic and Ecology class began. We went to the Savannah River Site and learned about our upcoming exams and papers. It was nice to see the various places we will be visiting. I will be meeting my professor and classmates tomorrow for the ENV 490: Pollution Control class. I am very excited about both of these classes and look forward to a great session. This picture is one of the many horses found in Aiken South Carolina. This horse is found at the University of South Carolina- Aiken Campus on my way to the gym.
Keep following my progress.
Truly yours,
Brittany Lyp