Taking Nat Geo Outside the Office

I am happy to report that after months of work we have officially launched our BETA version of the Great Nature Project website! There are still a few bugs we are working on but you can now visit the site at www.greatnatureproject.org. There you'll find a live photo feed that displays all the latest and greatest photos that have been submitted through Twitter, Instagram, Flickr, ProjectNoah, iNaturalist, and National Geographic's Yourshot/Kids Myshot program. We currently have around 6,000 photos, so only 994,000 to go until we reach our goal!


2013 Boy Scout Jamboree

I really encourage everyone to take a look around the site and explore some of the pictures that have been submitted from around the world. You'll find several categories of supplemental material, including everything from biodiversity educational links to helpful photography tips. Though I've been involved in many exciting things while interning at National Geographic, the Great Nature Project still remains my biggest focus. I am proud to see how far it's come and to say that I've had a part in something that is going to reach so many people.

What many people don't know about the project is that it is something we hope to continue to grow and develop for many years. The ultimate goal is to not only use the project as a global nature photo-sharing platform, but to also develop it into an international citizen science program. We are hoping to eventually gather more accurate geo-locations and information for each photo that is submitted. With that information we can work with scientific platforms such as ProjectNoah, Encyclopedia of Life, and iNaturalist to share every-day people's photos with scientists that are researching the biodiversity of a particular area or species. We are already discussing the details of a future app that can be used to share this information more conveniently.

2013 Boy Scout Jamboree

I've been doing a lot of jumping around the past two weeks, both literally and figuratively! I just got back from a very wild adventure in West Virginia at the 2013 Boy Scout Jamboree. There we excitingly spread the GNP mission to 50,000 boy scouts and visiting families. The Jamboree was located at a 10,600-acre piece of land nestled in the mountains of West Virginia. As the West Virginians would say, it was "almost heaven." The views were spectacular and the activities were endless. However, the horse flies were infesting our tents and the heat was dry but still exhausting. Our tent was located in the technology quest arena at the very top of the summit. We spent our first day camped out on the side of the mountain road waiting five hours for a bus to come get us. It appears that 50,000 boy scouts entering the summit at one location can lead to quite a huge traffic jam. From that point on we ditched the bus system and decided to hike to our tent each day.

Sunshine on the West Virginia mountains

While at the Jamboree we promoted four popular subjects produced by the Nat Geo Education Department. Besides the Great Nature Project, we had booths for our Alien Deep program (which I'll talk more about in the next blog), our Kids magazine, and a new Nat Geo water conservation initiative called Change the Course.  We were assigned a group of Jamboree volunteers to help many each of the booths while we ran from group to group answering questions. I was amazing by how attentive the crowds were, but it was the volunteers who truly inspired me. Men and women, old and young - these people embraced the spirit of National Geographic whole-heartedly! Each volunteer we worked with felt so honored to be representing National Geographic and made a point of thanking us for coming every chance they got.

The trip was exhausting, the boy scouts were smelly, and the horse flies made me appreciate mosquitos in a way I never thought I would; but to my surprise I still had the most amazing time. Not because everything went smoothly, not even because I got to travel somewhere new and exciting. I enjoyed this trip purely because of the coworkers that traveled and experienced all of this with me. All of the frustrating moments and strange situations lead to hilarious stories shared over beers each evening. I got to know my coworkers on a level that I never would have experienced in the office.

Friends!

I thought I knew how lucky I was to be a part of National Geographic. I thought it couldn't get any better than it already was. But this trip has made me realize one very important thing: I'm lucky to be interning with a company that is internationally respected and I'm lucky to be doing work that I love, but I am truly blessed to be working with people that I can now call my good friends.

Interesting links from this blog!

The Great Nature Project

www.greatnatureproject.org

 

Change the Course

http://changethecourse.us

 

Encyclopedia of Life

http://eol.org

 

 

The New Age of Exploration

I can't imagine a better time to be interning at National Geographic. The Society is celebrating its 125th year anniversary and James Cameron, a Nat Geo Explorer-in-Residence, recently took his one-manned submersible down to the deepest part of the ocean. To top it all off, I was able to attend the

James Cameron

annual Explores Symposium. This event consisted of three days of presentations from the coolest people I have ever had the privilege of meeting, the National Geographic 2013 Emerging Explorers!
An emerging explorer is a person who is sought out by National Geographic and recognized for their amazing achievements in science, humanity, and exploration. The symposium marks the beginning of their research under the funding of the Society.

Everyone at Nat Geo took off three days of work to listen to these cutting edge presentations and interact with the brilliant explorers. Unfortunately, I can't tell you a lot about the new explorers since most of their presentations consisted of unpublished work. However, I will say to watch out for these guys because they are right on the edge of some amazing new breakthroughs.

To read more about National Geographic's 2013 Emerging Explorers, visit:

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/explorers/grants-programs/emerging-explorers/

Getting to know Cameron

My week kicked off with an education event downtown featuring James Cameron and the one-manned submersible that he envisioned, built, and successfully dove down to the deepest part of the Ocean - the Mariana Trench. Cameron, the sub and his talented team of engineers were making their way across the country to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, where the sub will reside for future ocean exploration efforts. Fortunately, Cameron and the team decided to make a pit stop in DC for the Symposium.

Along with being a determined and daring explorer, Cameron is well known for his film-making career. Do the movie titles Avatar, Aliens, and the Titanic ring a bell? Many know Cameron as a creative and inspiring movie writer/director, but before his red carpet glory, there was a young dreamer and explorer that is still very alive in his work today.

At this downtown event, Cameron offered to pay for the transportation of all students from their schools to Woodrow Wilson Plaza so that they could see the sub with their own eyes and hear Cameron talk about his dive in person. National Geographic Education was there to keep the kids preoccupied while they anxiously waited for Cameron to arrive. That's where my job came in: manning the coloring station. You always have to expect the unexpected with these kids. One minute they are perfect angels drawing their own submarine designs on our large paper banners, then you turn around for a second and they've decided to move their creative efforts to the expensive National Geographic table covers.

When Cameron arrived, he was greeted by two hundred screaming kids. Joggers and bikers stopped in their paths to see the lime green sub that had traveled seven miles under the ocean's surface. In between answering questions and confiscating crayons, I actually had a moment to stop and listen to what Cameron had to say.

He spoke directly to the kids as if he was having a conversation with each of them. You'd think someone so smart and so successful might be hard to relate to. This was not the case with James Cameron whatsoever. He was relatable and inspiring as he encouraged everyone to "be their own explorer." When someone finally brought up his movies, he gestured to the sub behind him and simply said, "I only make those movies so I can get the money to go out and do this stuff!"

Taking the Plunge

Cameron was drawn to the deepest depths of the ocean after his work with the Titanic. He is one of three people that have visited Challenger Deep, which lies almost 7 miles under the ocean's surface in the western Pacific Ocean. However, he is the only person to have spent more than 20 minutes at the bottom.

James Cameron talking to the crowd

Cameron worked with a team of engineers from different sides of the world to create a one-man submersible strong enough to endure the challenges of the Ocean's depths. Seven years alter, they launched a mismatched lime green submarine into the stormy dark water above the Mariana Trench. After spending only three hours on the seafloor, Cameron was able to collect dozens of new species. A year later, scientists are still working with DNA samples and camera footage from the sub's dive. They believe that this data will lead to even more new species as well as a better understanding of how life exists in the deepest place on earth.

What I really love about Cameron's story is his evident passion for scientific exploration.


The Pilot's chamber - only 43 inches in diameter - a tight squeeze for 6ft. tall Cameron!

This expedition wasn't simply about breaking a record or being a hero. Cameron was determined to not only make it to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, but to also document every inch of it he could. The sub was equipped with high-resolution 3-D cameras and a hydraulic manipulator arm for taking samples. Most of the technology and materials used had to be newly invented by Cameron and his team of engineers. This expedition was made possible by science and its mission was first and foremost the exploration of an unknown world for the sake of new scientific discovery.

Understanding Exploration

In today's society it is very easy to mistake daredevils for explorers. I think it's important to recognize the people who risk their lives for the sake of science, discovery and a better world. Traveling to the deepest part of the ocean with new technology that can retrieve previously undiscovered data is exploration at its finest. Walking on a tightrope across the Grand Canyon... well, I personally view that a little differently.

Inside the pilot's chamber

If you haven't read the Challenger Deep story, I encourage you to do a little research. It's impossible for me to fully describe the details of this amazing adventure that was seven years in the making. Check out the link below to find out more about the sub and hear Cameron's first-person account of his voyage to the deep.

http://deepseachallenge.com/

For insight on how I became so passionate about the sea and marine environment, read the blog below.

A Day on the Bay -
   How a Seahorse Inspired a Passion for the Sea

Read my blog on National Geographic's Education site to see how a day on the water turned into a passion for our oceans.

http://blog.education.nationalgeographic.com/2013/07/02/a-day-in-the-bay/

The Secret Behind Shrimp

When you sit down for a nice meal at your favorite seafood restaurant, do you think about where your food came from? Now and days people are all about the organic lifestyle. Knowing how your food was prepared and where it originated has become a necessity for some people. However, this doesn't seem to be a growing trend with seafood. Although, I will say that most people are a little unsettled by just thinking about where the square "fish" sandwich from McDonald's came from. There are plenty of people who love fish, like myself, and wouldn't dream of ingesting that fried fast-food creation.

Seafood market in Japan

The unfortunate truth is, fast-food fish isn't the only seafood we should be wary of. I'm not just speaking from a conservation standpoint. Granted, if we ask more questions and make smart seafood choices, then we will have a profound impact on the world's fisheries, but we'll also be doing our bodies a favor!

What you don't know... can hurt you

I'm sure you've heard the common fact that too many antibiotics can be bad for you and your immune system. We've all experienced those sickly moments that consisted of begging our doctor to please prescribe antibiotics for this, that or the other cold symptom. No matter how many times I swear that I always develop a sinus infection with a cold, I'm sent on my way with a free box of scratchy tissues and a strawberry lollipop. Like that's going to stop a sinus infection.

Many of you know the reason doctors are so reluctant to prescribe antibiotics is because common bacteria that causes infections and diseases are capable of developing antibiotic resistant properties if overexposed to these drugs. So what does all of this have to do with your family dinner at Red Lobster? Well, turns out that humans and our pitiful inability to withstand the common cold are not the only ones overusing antibiotics for unnecessary reasons. Farm-raised shrimp in Asia and Indonesia heavily rely on a multitude of different antibiotics, some of which are very crucial to treating diseases and infections such as tuberculosis, gonorrhea, malaria, and common ear infections in humans.

Masses of different antibiotics and pesticides are widely used in shrimp aquaculture to stimulate growth and reduce the occurrence and effects of diseases caused by crowded and unsanitary farm conditions. The more these antibiotics are used, the faster a resistance develops. When this occurs, the bacteria growth is no longer halted by the antibiotic, therefore the antibiotic is no longer capable of treating or curing the diseases. Today, antibiotic resistance is referred to as a silent world crisis. Common bacteria are becoming resistant to not just one, but many antibiotics and it's important to realize that these "new and improved" resistant bacteria can be transferred between and among humans and animals.

Turning the subject back to our antibiotic injected shrimp, resistant bacteria can be transferred to us simply by enjoying our favorite shrimp plate at dinner. It has also been proven that some common shellfish diseases still survive within the shrimp even after being frozen. Scientists are still not sure what effects these diseases may have in the human body, but I'd rather not take the chance to find out. To top it off, some of the common antibiotics used in farm-raised shrimp are highly toxic to humans and only used in rare and usually life-threatening medical situations.

From another standpoint, shrimp farms are a huge expense to the environment. Mangroves and tropical coastal forests are clear-cut to make room for commercial shrimp farms. As you may know, mangroves are an integral part of the coastal ecosystem. They not only provide nursery and spawning grounds for commercially important species but they also create a buffer against storm surge, erosion and tsunamis.

What Can We Do?

The good news in all of this is that you don't have to stop eating shrimp. I for one would have a hard time living without my favorite go-to seafood dish. Fortunately, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has banned the use of certain antibiotics and pesticides (particularly the toxic ones) in US shrimp farms. Europe, Canada and Japan have also prohibited the use of antibiotics and chemically enhanced drugs in their aquaculture.

Fisherman

Unfortunately, as much as I like to think that all of our American shrimp comes from Forest Gump's Bubba and his family-owned shrimp boats, this is certainly not the case.  Over 90% of the shrimp that America consumes is imported and most of it is farm-raised. We continue to get cheap shrimp from countries such as China, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand, none of which have any restrictions on the antibiotics, pesticides, and bacterial residue found in their exported shrimp.

So how best can we shrimp lovers handle this situation? The answer is simple: ask questions. Local shrimp will often be noted on the menu or in the market. If not, it's worth taking the time to ask where your shrimp originated. And if you can't seem to find a traceable origin, chances are it's not the best option for you or the environment.

If you do have some questionable cheap shrimp from time to time, don't worry.  Odds are you will be completely fine - just try not to make it a weekly habit. As an added bonus, choosing local shrimp will help boost your community's coastal economy and often times be even more tasty!

Why Ask?

You don't have to stop at shrimp. Seeking traceability in all of your seafood decisions is an easy way to help mend the global fishing market. For example, demanding to know the origins of your seafood will aid in the efforts to stop illegal fishing, which is estimated to supply at least 20% of seafood worldwide and threaten 260 million global jobs dependent on marine fisheries.

Grouper

Congress is currently considering two bipartisan bills that would prohibit illegal and unaccountable fishing vessels to enter U.S. ports.  This alone would make seafood traceability much easier, not to mention ensure the future sustainability of our oceans.

For more information about these bills and why you should encourage your local congress representatives to pass them, please visit:

http://mission-blue.org/2013/02/new-bipartisan-bills-take-on-foreign-illegal-fishing-in-congress/

 

 

Capitol Hill Ocean Week: There is only "we"

Alecia Jurado at the US Capitol

Confucius once said, "We are so busy doing the urgent that we don't have time to do the important." Even after over 2,000 years, I couldn't agree more. In today's day and age, we seem to depend on drastic events such as hurricane Sandy or the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill to steer people's attention towards the environment and the crucial roles the ocean plays in our everyday lives.


Unfortunately, even after environmentally catastrophic events, the attention is only temporary. Take the BP oil spill for example; even the landlocked people of Kansas were in a state of alarm and fury while watching the thousands of barrels of oil gush into the blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Gulf coast inhabitants and visitors alike were petrified for the current effects and the threats the oil was putting on the local ecosystem, beaches, tourism, and economy. Then, 3 months and 4.9 million barrels later, the beaches were cleaned up, the sunburned tourists returned, Dawn launched an adorable new advertising platform and the oil seemingly "disappeared." What people fail to realize is that this oil spill still has just as much an environmental impact today as it did 3 years ago. Just because the oil is no longer visible doesn't mean it's not there and having a continually profound effect upon our Gulf ecosystem.

Similarly, just because we don't notice the sea level rising or the earth warming doesn't mean that it's not happening. Anyone who has taken an Environmental Issues class with Dr. Jeff Chanton will remember the multitudes of graphs and diagrams depicting the ever-changing global temperature. There is plenty of scientific evidence that the earth goes through 100,000-year cycles of global warming and cooling and these cycles have been taking place since long before humans shook the natural balance of this planet. So is global warming a natural cycle or one prompted by human influence? The simplified answer is both. The beauty of this is that we don't have to choose a side, but we do have to accept that our world is getting warmer, we are speeding up the process, and most importantly - we are not prepared for the future state of this planet. Some would argue that we aren't even prepared for the current state. So why is it that we only focus on topics such as climate change and sea level rise once it's too late?

Scientists sampling during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

Well, I cannot speak for everyone, but the general consensus is that it's a lot easier to pretend something is not happening until we are forced to confront it. And then rather than creating agenda's and implementing solutions for some of our biggest climate threats, we sit back and argue over which "side" to take. Effective resolutions and adaptive plans are put off because of scientific uncertainties. Newsflash, this is environmental science; there will ALWAYS be uncertainties. There will never be easy answers and almost every solution will involve major compromises from communities, governments, and environmentalists alike.

Hope

I spent the last few days watching some of the world's greatest scientists, policy makers and think tanks come together to try and find solutions for major issues such as ocean acidification, rising sea-level, overfishing, and marine debris. I watched these brilliant people struggle as much as anyone, but I still left every day with a surprising feeling of hope. This hope came from the extraordinary people I met throughout this week. I witnessed women and men from all different professions and interests set aside their daily lives to come together and promote the importance of our oceans. Businessmen chatted with environmentalists, congressmen conversed with fishermen, and students, like myself, soaked in all of the amazing ideas and resolutions that came from the communication between these unlikely pairings. It was this sense of unity and dedication that left me optimistic for the future of our blue planet.



Iceberg in Antarctica

The issues facing our oceans today will require both time and effort, but most importantly, they will require a nation and a world working together to inspire innovative ideas, advocate conservation efforts, and implement (as in actually apply) sustainable solutions. We spend so much of our time creating trivial boundaries and drawing lines between "us" and "them" when it's important to understand that there is only "we." It is no one person's sole responsibility to save the ocean, just like it is no one person's sole actions that are destroying it. Together we got ourselves into this mess and we must work together to get ourselves out.

Capitol Hill Ocean Week 2013: Introduction

What does the ocean mean to you? Perhaps it is a place that holds warm family memories and exciting new adventures. Maybe it's somewhere mystical and mysterious. Maybe it's even a little scary and dark, full of uncertainties and the unknown. However you chose to view the ocean, there are more than plenty reasons you and everyone else should be concerned for its future.

The purpose of this blog is not to try and convince you that oceans are more important than rainforests or space exploration, etc. Instead, it's to make you aware of what the ocean does for you everyday - I bet it's more than you think.

For just a moment, I want you to picture our planet from outer space. What color is it? What do you see first? I hate to be the one to break this to you, but the earth isn't green, it's blue. Oceans are the lifeline of our planet and our human race. They cover nearly 75% of the earth's surface and hold 97% of our planet's water. They provide a sixth of the animal protein people eat and are the most auspicious source of medicines to combat cancer, pain and bacterial infections. Not to mention, those big blue waters produce more than half the oxygen in our atmosphere, and absorb most of the carbon from it as well (that's something we should keep up if we have any hope of preventing climate change). Throughout environmental history, we have always heard that the rainforests are "the lungs of the earth." Turns out, that's not an entirely accurate analogy. Every other breath of air you take comes directly from the ocean. So technically, the rainforests are just one lung and the ocean is the other. Half of your life has been made possible because of a healthy, thriving ocean.

I know this isn't the case for everyone, but I love the ocean for the mystery, the unknown and the undiscovered. The thrill of not knowing what's swimming underneath me makes my imagination go wild. To me, the ocean is the last frontier. It's a place just as mysterious as outer space, but ten times more accessible. Like I've said before, the ocean is what encouraged my love and concern for the environment. It directed me to my studies at FSU, my internship here at Nat Geo, and hopefully my future career. Those sparkling blue waters have given more than just air, water, food and protection. They have inspired me to be the person I am today. I'm not saying you have to love the ocean as much as I do. I'm not even saying that you have to like it, but there's no denying that it is a part of all of us. The ocean is my life, and it's at least half of yours, whether you want it to be or not.

Everyone at Ocean Week understands the point I have just described to you. That is why they left their jobs as scientists, professors, senators, lawyers and business leaders for a week and traveled to DC and came together to discuss an issue that should be at the forefront of every country's agenda: How are we going to save our oceans, and how can we start now?

I want to remind you that I am an educator at heart, not a policy maker. I'll admit policy plays a huge role in my degree and my career, but politics have never been my strongpoint. I understand the fundamentals and you should know that I look at environmental policy from a very broad scope, which you'll see reflected in my next few discussions of Ocean Week. I've discovered that sometimes some of the most complex issues can be resolved with the ideas we believe are too simple to work.

Destination Imagination

One of the many great things about working in the Education department at Nat Geo is a shared passion to make a difference in our communities. Every day the people in this office have the opportunity to reach the minds of thousands and thousands of children, teenagers, and adults. That is an amazing power to hold. We are a direct connection between the science community and everyday people. For example, there are enormous amounts of scientific research articles being published every week, but only a tiny fraction of them reach the public. The problem isn't that these research articles are inaccessible, rather it's that they are unreadable to the general public who struggle to understand and relate to the information being released. My goal, and the goal of Nat Geo Education, is to be a translator, interpreter, and teacher for the non-scientists in our society. We convert the important scientific research of today into a reader-friendly version, something that is still informative and factual but also gives anyone the ability to walk away with a better understanding of the subject matter.

This past week I was assigned a number of different "busy work" jobs. I've done a multitude of emailing and contacting partner organizations for GNP. I also had a great time tracking down some lost UPS packages. But on the plus side, I'm now on a first name basis with Mail Services and that is a very powerful relationship to have! Despite all of the cool and exciting opportunities I've had so far, at the end of the day I'm still an intern. They busy work was sure to start eventually.

This week I met Sam; my second supervisor who just came back from an event in Tennessee called Destination Imagination. If you've never heard of this, you should Google it. It's basically a weeklong convention of over 20,000 students from Kindergarten to University level, who compete in teams to solve open-ended Challenges and present their solutions at tournaments. The programs are designed to promote higher order thinking and improve creative thinking, critical thinking, and collaborative problem solving. It's a mix between robotics, the environment, and creative design... on steroids. These students come to this convention from all over the nation and are absolutely ecstatic to be there. So what better place to launch the official announcement of the Great Nature Project than into a stadium full of screaming children and teens? Check out the video of Nat Geo's GNP announcement below and maybe you'll get a small idea of how absolutely insane this event is! Personally, it makes me want to be a kid again...

http://blog.education.nationalgeographic.com/2013/05/23/the-great-nature-project/
 

Improvisation Time

Speaking of screaming children... Friday was the annual Anacostia Environmental Youth Summit, and, being the education enthusiast that I am, I volunteered to go and help man the Nat Geo booth. My motivations may have been slightly intensified by the fact that we were given free Nat Geo t-shirts, but all the same, I showed up to help teach local 6th-8th graders about geography and the environment. So you can imagine my surprise when we found out the entire Summit consisted of 3rd and 4th graders who were in no way able to complete our junior-level activity. After the first 30 minutes of insane chaos and improvising, me and another intern were able to come up with an activity that basically consisted of matching the endangered, threatened (or just plain interesting) animals to their respective habitat locations. All of a sudden, I was incredibly thankful for the multitude of wildlife documentaries I've watched at 3 in the morning when I couldn't sleep (you know which ones I'm talking about!).  Apparently your mind does retain some information at that hour, otherwise there is no way I would have remembered that a pile of elephant crap can attract thousands of dung beetles who will eat and/or bury the entire pile within 2 hours. Coming from a family of all girls, it was truly amazing to me to see how the single mention of a dung beetle could grab the attention of every little boy in the group.

Ocean Week 2013

As for this coming week, I'll have some really exciting stuff to share! Capitol Hill Ocean Week 2013 starts this Tuesday and Nat Geo was nice enough to get me tickets for every event (except for the $350 dinner... that seems just a little bit excessive). I'll be listening in on lectures, seminars, and round-table discussions by the nation's greatest marine conservationists, scientists, explorers, and political representatives. They'll be addressing topics from the latest updates on the aftereffects of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill to the strategy behind balancing the economy and coastal threats. Anything you can imagine that has to do with the current state of our oceans will be covered and I'll be reporting it all back here! Hopefully you are as excited as I am, and if you're not.. well I should warn you now that this might not be the blog for you. But if you keep looking, I bet you can find a great read on dung beetles...

Inside the Yellow Boarder

Week One at National Geographic was a bit of a whirlwind. I was lucky enough to catch a ride to the downtown building on my first morning, but finding my way home on the metro was quite the experience. Two important things I learned about DC this week:

1. Metro escalators are not relaxing joyrides and if you don't keep moving you will get pushed off and wipe out everyone below you.
2. Wearing sneakers and a backpack with your formal office attire while walking about the city is completely normal and highly recommended.

Once I got those two concepts mastered I was good to go! Luckily, I made it to National Geographic in one piece and on time thanks to the extra hour I gave myself every morning to get lost on the metro, pushed off the escalators, and buy band-aides for my newly blistered feet.

I am one of 9 interns in the National Geographic Education department and we are all assigned different tasks under our own individual supervisors. I have two supervisors, Mary and Sam, who both work in Education Programs. I haven't met Sam yet, but Mary is amazing! A few months before I arrived, Mary had just started managing a new big education project called the Great Nature Project. Today, the project is still in its early stages but I'm sure you'll be hearing about it over the next couple months, and not just from me. But for now, I'll give you a little sneak preview of what the Great Nature Project is all about!

The Great Nature Project

The Great Nature Project (aka GNP) is a worldwide, weeklong celebration of biodiversity. GNP is an international initiative to get people outside and exploring the amazing world around them. Starting in September, National Geographic invites everyone and anyone with a camera to take pictures of the local wildlife in their area. Whether it's at the park, beach, or just outside your backdoor, all you have to do is snap a picture of a plant or animal you find! Once you've taken your picture(s), simply upload them to a social media site such as Twitter, Instagram or Flickr and use the hash-tag #GreatNature. We are going to then use all of these photos to create a snapshot of the world, where you can go online and see what people halfway across the globe are uploading too. If you snap a picture of an animal, add the hash-tag #animal to help us create the world's largest online photo album of animals and break a Guinness World Record! We need everyone's help to make this project come alive and spread the importance of biodiversity, conservation, and exploration around the world!

So that's the basic idea behind GNP. I'm the only intern on this project and my main job is to be part of the team that makes this baby come to life! I'd say that's a whole lot better than picking up dry cleaning and coffee, which I would have happily done just to be a tiny part of the National Geographic legacy. My work so far has basically consisted of editing website drafts and shadowing Mary at her meetings. And wow, does she have a lot of meetings. We have department meetings, team briefings, conference calls with partner organizations, meetings with NG Explores, meetings with marketing and design... we have meetings to organize meetings! My calendar is constantly full and I love it because that means I get to be a part of everything.

The unique thing I have discovered about the National Geographic organization is that they genuinely want their staff and interns to be educated and to care about the things they care about. For example, they encourage a healthy and environmentally friendly diet, so their cafeteria offers healthy alternatives and their recycling, compost, and trash systems have been perfectly set up for everyone to use. Of course, this doesn't stop me from grabbing a bag of potato chips and the occasional basket of onion rings during my lunch break, but I still consider myself very lucky to be working at a place that practices what it preaches. We are even encouraged to take time out of our workday to go and listen to lectures and presentations put together by explorers and scientists of the Society. We can sign up for classes that teach research skills and graphic design. All of these things are free and available to us at anytime. Needless to say, this is a pretty awesome place to work!

Wednesday, Mary and I went to the filming of the 25^th annual National Geographic Bee. Besides spending the entire morning watching pre-teens make me feel like my thousands of dollars of college tuition have been a complete waste, I got to witness a National Geographic tradition successfully come together.  Twenty-five years ago, the National Geographic Bee started out just like the Great Nature Project - nothing more than a big idea with a huge goal. Wednesday it celebrated its quarter of a century anniversary. This year, GNP is more of a test run, but we are hoping this initiative will grow and continue for years to come just like the Geography Bee.

If you would like to find out more information about the Great Nature Project or pre-register for the big event, please visit the following sites:


http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/great-nature-project/?ar_a=1

 

http://www.greatnatureproject.org

 

 

 

Alecia Jurado,
Environmental Science & Policy Senior
National Geographic Society Intern

 

 

Alecia Jurado
Education Programs intern at the National Geographic Society
Environmental Science and Policy BA
Senior

 

 After I was accepted into the internship program at the National Geographic Society, I noticed one particular question that kept popping up in my daily life. This question was the overly exaggerated “How in the world did you manage to get an internship THERE!?” Most of the time people walk away with a slightly less exciting answer than what they had anticipated. Most people expect me to list off a huge amount of achievements that got me into this cozy cubicle on the corner of the 2^nd floor conference room. In reality, I’m just like any other obsessed environmental student. I’m not a straight A student or a science prodigy (I got a C in chemistry my freshman year and celebrated because it meant I had passed!). The resume I submitted to National Geographic was one page long with no prior work experience in this field apart from some summer volunteer work at the Florida Aquarium. And trust me, scrubbing the slime off the stingray tank was not much of a career builder, but it did help me find my passion and it was this passion that lead me to this very specific internship.  

Ask anyone that’s ever met me and they’ll tell you what I love most in the world: the Ocean. I was the little kid that grew up sorting through seaweed on the beach while everyone else was building sandcastles. I’m the girl that will go fishing with her dad just to pick through the critters that come up as by catch in his cast net.  Yup, I’m an ocean hugger and proud!

Ever since I was little I knew I was going to be a marine biologist. Obviously it was the best career for a girl like me. It wasn’t until high school that my passion expanded beyond the ocean’s waters. While scrubbing off the slime of the stingray tanks, I would have eager kids line up to ask me questions. I loved watching their eyes widen as I showed them how Rosie (the large Southern stingray) can suck a fish right off my hand. It made my day to watch them run over to their parents and repeat the facts I had just given them. It was right there, in the middle of the slimy smelly stingray tank, that I discovered my other passion – education.

I might as well be honest with you now. I am not, nor will I ever be, a teacher. I have the utmost respect for teachers because, frankly, I don’t have the patience or energy to teach the same subject to the same bored kids day after day. But at the aquarium, I wasn’t a normal teacher. I was the cool aquarium lady who fed the stingray from her hands! The kids that came up to me genuinely wanted to hear what I had to say. They left the aquarium that day with not only knowledge, but also an appreciation for the animals they learned about. So I decided I wanted to share my love of the ocean with everyone I could. I’m talking about kids, adults, teachers, businesses, leaders – anyone who will listen.

As I got further into Environmental Science and Policy at Florida State, I gained an appreciation and love for all parts of the environment, but secretly the ocean still remained my favorite. I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my degree, however when people asked me what my plans were, I could never find the perfect way to explain it. I wanted to be an ambassador of the environment, not a scientist or politician, but an educator. It was that concept that lead me to National Geographic – a 125 year old exploring, inspiring, and EDUCATING society.

So how did I get in? Well that’s simple. Like most great opportunities in life, I happened to find myself searching in the right place at the right time. I knew my family had a connection with someone who is part of the National Geographic community so I gave him my resume and he agreed to pass it along and maybe, just maybe there would be a spot that my talents could fill. Of course, it was a long shot and I didn’t get my hopes up. Most interns at the Society are geography, photography, or journalism majors - three things I know very little about. The biggest step was not being discouraged. I knew my goals were unique and I knew my strengths were specific. I wanted to find a place where they could be used. At this exact moment in time, that place happened to be National Geographic. So I just call it what it is… luck, a lot of luck.