Behind the Scenes

As always, there have to be people calling the shots from somewhere. Even if it's a wildlife refuge.

Kayleigh Rose Erazmus is a Park Ranger in the Interpretive Division of Jamaica Bay. At 23 years old, she holds a passion for the outdoors and wildlife.

Her duties for the bay include:

• Conduct daily trail patrols to interact with visitors and promote a sense of understanding of the resources.
• Enforcement of rules and regulations.
• Maintain volunteer reports and program databases using Microsoft Excel and Access
• Create and lead interpretative programs for both staff and the public.
• Design informational flyers using Adobe
• Photograph flora and fauna for the web and flyers.
• Write press releases for local newspapers and Gateway website.
• Publish new information and photos to Gateway website; Trained in CMS.
• Perform trail maintenance and weeding of invasive plants to conserve the natural biodiversity of the refuge.

Pretty decent resume for a graduate student huh?

Erazmus truly loves what she does, hard to find in a day and age where jobs are so scarce. But how does one find a job like this? Here's what she said--

"I honestly had never heard for Gateway National Recreation Area or Jamaica Bay- being from Connecticut and all. When I applied to Hofstra and was also looking for a job, I was told by my advisor about the Park Service and Jamaica Bay. I already had it set that I would study the Diamondback Terrapin at the Wildlife Refuge so I figured working there would only benefit my thesis research. I continued to work there outside of research season because I fell in love with it."