Megan Morrissey

In New Zealand, I did ecological restoration fieldwork on three small islands in the Hauraki Gulf and on one mainland ecological island in the North Island. I tracked Kiwi, observed the feeding habits of endangered Takahe birds, planted hundreds of trees on every island, and surveyed plant biodiversity along with learning about New Zealand's environmental policies and pathways. Along with a small group of 6 students, we cooked meals, gardened at our field station to grow our own food, slept under the stars of the southern hemisphere, and learned to live sustainably and cooperatively. I was welcomed by the local Maori in a traditional Powhiri ceremony at the Whakatiwai Marae. I went tramping in the Southern Alps, stayed on a farm, climbed the Franz Joseph Glacier, saw a geyser and thermal village, jumped off of the Skytower in Auckland, and got snowed in at Fiordland National Park.