Zahra Farahmand – Water pollution in Penobscot Nation waters
2024 Mitchell Center Intern
Academic Program: Ecology & Environmental Sciences, UMaine
Project: Bioaccumulation monitoring in Penobscot Nation waters; Wabanaki studies in K-12 schools
Team Leaders: Holland Haverkamp, UMaine; Angie Reed, Dan Kusnierz, and Jan Paul, Penobscot Nation Water Resources Department
Why are you interested in the problem you are working on?
The problem I am working on focuses on water pollution in the Penobscot Watershed. I am interested in this problem because it is an issue that affects people around Maine and by understanding the problem we can take measures to protect ourselves and look for solutions.
How could your work contribute to a sustainable future in Maine and beyond?
My work would contribute to the data that would be collected to make judgements about the water quality of the Penobscot Watershed. It would later be used to incentivize some policy briefs that would advocate for better practices to ensure cleaner water.
What do you feel are the most important skills that you bring to your internship?
I am a responsible person who values hard work. I come from Afghanistan with a different culture and language. I think my resilience and hard work would be the skills that I would bring to this internship.
What have you learned through your participation in this internship?
I have learned about the Penobscot people and their river. I found them interesting and very responsible people towards nature.
What are your personal goals for this internship? What do you hope to accomplish?
My personal goals are to make new friends and learn from them. I hope to learn about the ways people manage their lives around the pollutants that threaten the environment and their food sources in the Penobscot river. By learning them I can further develop my skills to be part of the solution to this problem.
How do you like to spend your free time/down time?
I would like to read books, exercise and listen to music in my free time. I really love history and my favorite book is Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari. I like Beethoven and Hans Zimmer’s music.
What’s your ultimate Maine experience?
Enjoying nature and feeling connected to it. Listening to this water when it rushes and in its way crushes the stone. Listening to bird music and waking to them.