LIISMA bids Farewell to Haley and Katharine

After a successful and eventful field season, the LIISMA teams bid a farewell to Invasive Species Specialist II Haley Gladitsch and Invasive Species Technician Katharine Stirber as they prepare to move on to new experiences. Haley will be attending graduate school at the University of Edinburgh, with a focus in Biodiversity and Plant Taxonomy and Katharine will be returning to SUNY Binghamton to continue her bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science. They will be greatly missed by the LIISMA Team, but we wish them well in all their future endeavors. 

What are your fondest memories being a part of the LIISMA team? 

Haley  

I think some of my fondest memories were kayaking through the coastal plain ponds, and getting to work with all of the different partners in those different places. When we went to those places, there was this really great energy– knowing that we’re doing this really amazing work, and getting to see firsthand the impacts that we’re making there. There’s always an exciting plant to see… and I think the places we’ve visited are some of the coolest, most diverse places on Long Island. 

Katharine

I would say, exploring new places on Long Island. Growing up here, you know the basics, but we really go into the deepness and complexity of the island. Some of the sites that we went to, I wouldn’t have even known existed before this. Sometimes the work isn’t what you expect it to be; there’s always something about the day that is new, different, exciting and sometimes very funny even. We had such funny stories like the turkey chasing us, or going to visit the lake yesterday and finding that it was dry. It’s part of what made the job so fun and the experience so meaningful. This job also gave me the step up I needed towards my career. And it feels great being asked questions [about invasive species] and being able to answer them now. 

Where do you see yourself as you move forward in your careers towards new experiences?

Haley

I think I see myself in a lot of different places. It might involve doing some sort of research, or trying to better understand how we can preserve and expand populations of our species, whether on local scales or globally. I’d like to see myself using more effective methods (not that the methods that we use are ineffective). There’s so much that we are doing with invasives… My goal is to try to look at all these things more holistically, understand better methods of collecting that data, and then implement that in the field. I’d like to understand more of how we better see these things on a micro-level so we can understand them more efficiently on a macro-level. Also, I’d like to make sure that land managers can access that information more readily. 

I’d like to still be outside collecting data in the field, but also presenting that information on various scales– whether it’s towards bigger government bodies, or working with students to produce research on how we can be more efficient. I think that’s the bottom line; there’s only so much money and capacity to make change at lower levels, and I want to see myself as a part of the bigger picture. 

Katharine

I’m really excited to do environmental science as opposed to environmental studies because the studies part can be a bit much at times. It tends to bring me down because I’m learning about how the world is ending and why it’s ending– sometimes it’s just too much. I’d prefer learning about the science behind how the environment works; I feel like that seems a lot cooler to me. I’m excited to finish with a degree in that and maybe geoscience as a minor and a masters in public administration. Obviously I’ve thought about it a lot, so we’ll see how things go, then go from there. I also feel that the professionals you meet along the way have a lot to do with influencing the direction you go in. A year ago, if you told me that I wanted to do research, I would think you were crazy. Now, it’s enjoyable.