2022_09_New_Jersey_Monthly

GARDEN VARIETY | GIVING BACK
ridgeview conservancy
PROTECTING
NJ’S WATERWAYS
Student scientist found her passion
volunteering at local conservancy.
ENVIRONMENTALLY
CONSCIOUS
Sonja Michaluk has her
very own lab, where the
18-year-old studies and
works to preserve New
Jersey’s waterways.
Sonja Michaluk first collected water samples
from Princeton wetlands at age six. Soon after,
she began exploring New Jersey waterways,
gathering info to share with local officials.
“Since fourth grade, Sonja has not only generated
data, but translated it so that policy makers and the
public can understand it,” says Patricia Shanley, PhD, director
of stewardship at Ridgeview Conservancy, a Princeton nonprofit
that preserves forests and wetlands. “She has presented
her findings in compelling ways in front of daunting audiences
such as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.”
Now an 18-year-old research scientist and student at
Carnegie Mellon University, Michaluk says volunteering
at Ridgeview Conservancy fostered her love of nature at a
young age. As a member of the Conservancy’s Woodland
Explorers, an educational program for elementary schoolchildren,
she would recite entire lessons to her family while
Educational
programs connect
students
to nature by
designing trails
and programs to
inspire observation
and action.
In 2009.
Private donations
are welcome.
GIVE
YOUR
TIME
If you are in or
near Princeton,
consider
volunteering
at Ridgeview
Conservancy.
The Garden State
has other, similar
watershed organizations
that welcome
volunteers
as well.
LEARN
MORE
Visit ridgeviewconservancy.org/
our-initiatives.
TO FIND OUT ABOUT UPCOMING BENEFITS GO TO NJMONTHLY.COM.
encouraging them to walk nearby trails
and try edible plants. “I grew up splashing
in streams,” Michaluk adds. “I loved
seeing green frogs, bullfrogs, garter
snakes and milk snakes. It’s a wonderful
environment to see and to explore.”
From 2014 to 2020, Michaluk
contributed to the preservation of
ecologically sensitive wetlands and
wildlife corridors in Central New
Jersey by analyzing field data and
sharing it with local and state officials.
In 2019, the Hopewell Valley Central
High School alumna received the
Stockholm Junior Water Prize for her
work monitoring the health of Jersey
waterways. Michaluk’s findings
looked at the health of Chironomidae,
a non-biting midge related to mosquitoes.
“Chironomidae live in waterways
all over the world—even in Antarctica,”
Michaluk says. “Monitoring
Chironmidae allows us to determine
the health of the waterways.”
Michaluk’s work has been internationally
recognized, published in
Encyclopaedia Britannica, presented
at conferences, and featured in
climate-change films. She won the
President’s Environmental Youth
Award from the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, a Grand Award
at the Intel International Science
and Engineering Fair, and the Gloria
Barron Prize for Young Heroes. In
2016, the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology named a minor planet
after her, and she has influenced New
Jersey construction and development
regulations.
Today, Michaluk still volunteers at
Ridgeview Conservancy when she’s
not in school. She now holds the title
of scientific advisor. Her advice? Others
should donate their time as well.
“I got hands-on experience, was
mentored by wonderful people, and
had fun,” Michaluk says. “Volunteering
is a good way to find your
passion.” —Michele C. Hollow
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PHOTOGRAPH: COURTESY OF GLORIA BARRON PRIZE FOR YOUNG HEROES
28 SEPTEMBER 2022 NJMONTHLY.COM