Hi! I’m Rachel. Big conservation person and HUGE let’s take care of our planet person. I was born and raised in a suburb right outside of Milwaukee, Wisconsin but my conservation journey didn’t start until 2015 in Orlando, Florida. I started working with endangered sea turtles and over the years have expanded to get experience in other areas of conservation.
Eventually I ended up on Midway Atoll as the Invasive Plant Biology Technician where I have spent the last year and a half leading a team in attempting to eradicate Verbesina encelioides, a highly invasive plant that negatively affects the seabird colony.
The project has been on-going for about ten years, and I am happy to say that Verbesina is now present on less than 1% of the atoll. This is not the point in an eradication effort to slow down; quite the opposite. This is the time to buckle down to ensure we find and treat EVERY single remaining plant before it has the opportunity to go to seed and reproduce. This is when the team and the work they do is the most important.
Friends of Midway Atoll is asking for your help to extend Rachel’s position through November 2023. With the support of our members and donors, FOMA is well positioned to match an anonymous donor’s generous gift to ensure that the work of Midway’s program to completely eradicate this noxious weed continues towards its historic goal. Click below to contribute via our fundraiser on Facebook.
