Parker Catena joined our water quality team as an intern in late July and we couldn’t be more grateful for his dedication and hard work. Not only does he collect water samples and assist with lab work, but he has also taken on the important role of maintaining our floating wetland installations in Fort Pond checking that mats, plants, and pots are properly secured, taking progress pictures, and reporting back to us weekly.

Parker is a rising senior at Brooklyn Technical High School majoring in Aerospace Engineering, but his favorite classes are chemistry, biology, and environmental science. He plans to study Environmental Engineering in college.

“I reached out to CCOM to volunteer because I wanted to play a part in protecting the nature I grew up loving. Participating in water sampling and floating wetlands monitoring has allowed me to feel like I am actively making a difference in the environment through the application of science,” he said.

Parker will be headed back to school soon and will be missed. We would like to wish him the best of luck on his journey; he will surely do amazing things!