University of Delaware undergraduate student Abigail Young has always had a passion for environmental stewardship, but through her academic studies at the University of Delaware, she has also discovered a drive to educate others about the importance of caring for the natural world.

“Connecting with the community is such an incredible opportunity to share how great the environment is and how much it does for us,” said Young, a senior environmental science major with a concentration in marine science, and a minor in coastal and marine geoscience. “I think people forget how much we truly depend on the things around us. It's our home and it’s the only one we’ve got.” 

So, when Young had the chance to spend the summer with Delaware Sea Grant conducting hands on fieldwork and connecting with local educators, she jumped at the opportunity. 

Working with Delaware Sea Grant professionals Brittany Haywood, coastal ecology specialist, and David Christopher, marine education specialist, through the Delaware Sea Grant Extension, Education and Research Internship, Young spent her summer conducting fieldwork on submerged aquatic vegetation in the South Bethany canal system and helping develop outreach activities for local educators. 

“Abby embraced the challenges of her internship and showed how science can connect directly with people,” said Haywood. “She not only gained hands-on experience with research but also learned how to translate that science into meaningful conversations with the community. Her work highlights the power of internships to build skills, foster community connections, and strengthen Delaware Sea Grant’s efforts to make science accessible and relevant.”

South Bethany Canals

Young’s work in the South Bethany Canal system involved monitoring beds of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), specifically Ruppia maritima (widgeon grass), to better understand the variables influencing why this species is thriving in the South Bethany canal system. She used instruments to measure field parameters, build conductivity, temperature and depth profiles and looked at dissolved oxygen rates to see how the widgeon grass is thriving in such brackish waters. 

Once the wigeon grass reached full maturity, Young helped harvest grasses that were processed through a turbulator, a jacuzzi-sized tank where plants are agitated to release the seeds. Through this effort, over 10,000 seeds were collected, which will be used in future restoration projects to help support and restore ecosystems along Delaware’s coast.

She also developed a monitoring protocol after reviewing a range of research methods and incorporating planning measures with ArcGIS and Python software. Having this protocol is especially important since the South Bethany canals are subjected to higher levels of anthropogenic activity and run off from Route One coming into the canal

“It's a unique site. Most monitoring protocols center around undisturbed meadows of SAVs that are left alone and completely secluded,” said Young. “In South Bethany, you can't implement what those protocols call for, which are stakes or permanent markers, because this grass is growing right in the middle of a community. It's not just some island in the middle of nowhere. This protocol was made so it wouldn't cause ecological disturbance to the surrounding area.” 

Crab Pot Game

In addition, Young helped explain the detrimental impacts of lost or abandoned crab pots and what that means ecologically to local educators. Crab pots that become lost or abandoned can “ghost fish,” which is when they lure creatures into their midst and trap them. 

Young worked to develop a hands-on crab pot game to show students the negative impacts associated with lost or abandoned crab pots. 

“Abigail was an excellent intern,” said Christopher. “She showed a great attention to detail and was largely responsible for the physical look of the Crab Pot Game.”

Young presented this game to local teachers, from schools throughout Delaware such as Smyrna High School, Appoquinimink High School and Christiana High School among others, and had them participate in the life-sized game. 

“The importance of the game was to help participants understand the environmental and ecological implications of ghost pots, but in a way that was both engaging and educational for students,” said Young. “I also organized and built the dataset behind the game based on real data from crab pot removals, including information on the waterway it was pulled from, the removal method, species caught alive or dead, and the presence of bycatch reduction devices.” 

In addition to the crab pot game, Young led a marine debris activity with children at a local 4-H camp, helping them understand the negative impacts of marine debris on ecosystems and communities. She used simplistic, everyday examples like plastic water bottles to show how something used for just a few minutes can take hundreds of years to decompose, leaving a legacy that lasts generations.

Young also helped with a crab pot check for local crabbers and attended the Educator Workshop: Mid-Atlantic Climate Change Education Conference in Annapolis, Maryland, which focused on education for climate action. The experience was an informative way to see how educators approach climate science in the classroom and how those strategies can inspire broader climate literacy 

“The amount of field work I did this summer was incredibly beneficial,” said Young. “I have never been challenged in the way that I was this summer and I developed more critical thinking skills and improved my ability to adapt to different situations. From a scientific level, I've never had an experience like that before and I'm so privileged to have worked with Brittany, David, and the entire Delaware Sea Grant team.”