{"id":22284,"date":"2026-09-21T09:51:56","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T13:51:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/?p=22284"},"modified":"2026-09-21T09:51:56","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T13:51:56","slug":"from-classroom-to-conservation-sydney-brown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/news\/from-classroom-to-conservation-sydney-brown\/","title":{"rendered":"From Classroom to Conservation: Sydney Brown Finds Her Place in the Field"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 Sept. 21, 2026 \u2013 In her freshman year conservation biology class, undergraduate Sydney Brown learned about \u201cumbrella species\u201d\u2014species whose conservation can benefit other wildlife that live in the same habitat. Now a senior, Brown is seeing that concept come to life through her Environmental Management Fellowship<\/a> with the Audubon Society of Rhode Island. As part of her fellowship, Brown is assisting with research on Eastern Towhees, a focus species for Audubon not only because their population is declining, but also because conserving their habitat can benefit many other animals that depend on the same ecosystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Environmental Management Fellowship, run through URI Cooperative Extension<\/a> in partnership with the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, is designed to give students hands-on experience in environmental fields. Along with year-long paid project placements, fellows receive professional development training, networking opportunities, and exposure to environmental careers across the state. \u201cThis is the inaugural year for the program,\u201d said Kate Venturini Hardesty, program administrator for Cooperative Extension. \u201cWe are grateful that she is one of the first 10 students to participate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Brown, a wildlife and conservation biology<\/a> major, the fellowship was a natural step in her education. She was particularly drawn to the opportunity because it was designed for students who may not yet have extensive professional experience, but who are still passionate and eager to learn. When choosing her placement, Audubon stood out. \u201cIt was the most geared towards my interests,\u201d Brown said. \u201cWe spend the majority of our lives working, and I see wildlife conservation as a way to dedicate that time to something meaningful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Audubon, Brown works closely with Sarah Deckel, director of Bird Conservation. While her fellowship has given her the opportunity to support a project on Eastern Towhees, her primary role has been acting as the organization\u2019s 2026 Osprey Monitoring Volunteer Coordinator. The Osprey Monitoring Program at Audubon began in 1977, following dramatic region-wide declines in osprey populations due in part to the use of DDT, a pesticide that thins eggshells and can lead to reproductive failure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the longest-running community science projects in the state, the goal of the monitoring program is to track the osprey population by documenting breeding activity and determining how many young birds successfully leave their nests each year. Volunteers are asked to monitor at least one nest each week for just five to 10 minutes, making it an accessible way for people to get involved. Since the 1970s, the program has documented substantial recovery in Rhode Island\u2019s osprey population. Long-term data collection continues to be valuable for monitoring how the population changes over time, and how factors such as urban development or changes in Narragansett Bay may affect ospreys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As volunteer coordinator, Brown managed over 150 volunteers, training them on the project\u2019s protocols, fielding questions, entering monitoring data, and tracking active and inactive nests. Brown also organized an end-of-season volunteer gathering, providing an opportunity to celebrate the group\u2019s hard work, as well as share the season\u2019s data and findings with the people who make it possible. Working with the Osprey Monitoring Program has instilled in Brown a deep appreciation for the power of community science. \u201cThis project allows volunteers to feel purposeful in serving something that is bigger than themselves,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s easy to feel pessimistic when it comes to conservation or improving major environmental issues in the world today. But the truth is, we can make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Brown with an Eastern Towhee. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The fellowship has also taken Brown beyond her primary role. She has assisted with research on Eastern Towhees, collecting invertebrate samples in areas where the birds are known to breed. By analyzing the insects available in their habitat, Audubon is gaining a clearer picture of the birds\u2019 diet, and therefore a better understanding of how to conserve the species. She has also participated in bird banding, and had the opportunity to attend the 2026 Joint Meeting of the Association of Field Ornithologists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the fellowship wrapping up at the end of the year, Brown expressed gratitude for getting the chance to put conservation concepts into practice, preparing her for her future career. \u201cI\u2019ve gotten so much out of this experience,\u201d she said, \u201cand it has sparked a stronger interest in ornithology.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Written by CELS Communication Fellow Jessica Minker.<\/em>

Any agency, business, or organization looking to learn more about URI Cooperative Extension Fellowship programs can contact <\/em>kate@uri.edu<\/em><\/a>. Interested parties are also welcome to hear about some of the work of select 2026 Extension Fellows at a community showcase on Dec. 2 at URI\u2019s Higgins Welcome Center. Learn more at <\/em>uri.edu\/coopext<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From classroom lessons to fieldwork, Sydney Brown is gaining hands-on experience in bird monitoring, research, and community science.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1089,"featured_media":22285,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1089"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22284"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22284\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22290,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22284\/revisions\/22290"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}