Introducing Abby - Environmental Policy Intern Spring 2021

    Hello all! My name is Abby Beilman (pronouns: they, them, theirs) and I’m one of Save the Harbor/Save the Bay’s Environmental Policy Interns for the Spring of 2021. I’m absolutely thrilled to have this opportunity, and I can’t wait for what these next month will bring. Growing up, my family visited beaches in Rhode Island, Maine, and Massachusetts every summer, and I still seize any opportunity I get to be at the beach. In recent years, however, increasingly frequent occurrences of Red Tide and severe storms have made these trips a reckoning with the reality of climate change in addition to an opportunity for outdoor recreation. This combined with my AP environmental science class in high school, where we took a field trip to the Assabet River to sample water quality and microorganisms, learning about the detrimental effects of a local sewage plant on the river, are what ignited my interest in environmental science and science policy.

Abby on a boardwalk along the Assabet River in Acton, MA.

    Currently, I am a sophomore at Clark University in Worcester, MA (commuting from my hometown of Acton, MA due to the COVID-19 pandemic) majoring in environmental science, with a concentration in Earth system science and a minor in political science. My passions have a broad range, but I am most interested in the intersection between science and politics, conservation, and policy - previously, I interned with my town’s natural resources division doing trail cleanup and historical documentation. Outside of my classes and working with Save the Harbor/Save the Bay, I am also an avid reader (current recommendation: In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson), cook (though I am a terrible baker) and player of the urban planning game SimCity. I also enjoy hiking and kayaking and have recently taken up crossword puzzles (which you will see at the end of this post)! 

    In my time with Save the Harbor/Save the Bay, I am excited to learn more about the policy process, community engagement and organizing, and the nonprofit sector. I hope that I can start to apply some of what I’ve learned in the classroom to the real world and help in advancing Save the Harbor/Save the Bay’s mission of providing clean and accessible beaches with amazing programs and activities for all through the funds raised with the upcoming Shamrock Splash. I am so thrilled by the work that this organization does, from water quality reports to public hearings to youth programming, and I cannot wait to immerse myself in it. When I came across Save the Harbor/Save the Bay for the first time, I was amazed by both the quality and quantity of work that they put out, and I am glad to now be a part of that.

A crossword I created, with the 9 towns of the Met Beaches Commission as the answers. I have included the solutions below, upside down so you don't accidentally spoil it!