Earth Team Volunteer Enjoys Summer of Soil

The soils staff can’t help but brag about Earth Team Volunteer Maral Wozniak. She’s been a huge help to them this summer out in the field … and a good sport when it comes to working under messy conditions.

Wozniak worked with NRCSers Debbie Surabian, Donald Parizek, Lisa Krall, and Cornell Ph.D. Candidate E.J. Neafsey sampling very poorly drained Ipswich, an important benchmark soil series in the region, located within the Barn Island Wildlife Management Area in Stonington. The group sampled two Sulfihemist soils (part of their taxonomy is derived from the presence of reduced sulfur). When exposed to air, the sulfur oxidizes producing a foul, rotten egg odor. This work, under even the best conditions, can be quite messy. But Wozniak called it “fun.”

Surabian and Parizek said of Wozniak, “If she thought this was fun, then she may have the makings of a soil scientist!”

Wozniak is not only interested in the soils portion of the agency, she also toured the ongoing South Branch of the Park River engineering project.

Wozniak is from West Hartford, and is very excited about starting school at the University of Hartford where she’ll be a freshman. She hopes to have a career with NRCS.

Contact

For more information about the Earth Team Program in Connecticut, contact Carol Donzella, Earth Team Coordinator, (203) 389-6925.

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