Hannah Phillips '10 has a P.L.A.N.

Hannah Phillips ?10 was a junior in fall 2007 when she came up with a recreational-management plan for the new wildlife preserve in rural Galway, N.Y. Her plan for this parcel is being used by Saratoga P.L.A.N. (Preserving Land and Nature) (www.saratogaplan.org), the Saratoga-based land conservation and planning organization, in its ongoing work to promote appreciation of the area?s natural resources.

An environmental studies major, Ultimate Frisbee team member, and outdoor enthusiast, Phillips was a P.L.A.N. intern in fall 2007. She mapped and documented various properties? history and ecology, and monitored conservation easements using geographical information systems technology she mastered as a student assistant at Skidmore?s GIS Center for Interdisciplinary Research. One thing led to another: ?The P.L.A.N. people asked me what I wanted to work on. I was interested in practical GIS applications so they gave me a 50-acre plot of land and said we?d like a recreational management plan for this wildlife preserve.?

That land?now the Galway Nature Preserve?was a Christmas-tree farm in the 1950s, and is still home to abundant stands of spruce, pine, hemlock, balsam and Douglas fir plus two ponds, marshland, and a few buildings. Phillips walked the land extensively, noting sensitive areas and sketching out trails, then walked it again with arborists and state wildlife experts to get ideas for its best use.

The resulting 10-page Galway Preserve Management Plan details the parcel?s history and resources and recommends management goals, restoration options, and public-access ideas such as 10- to 30-minute-walk trails, wildlife-observation lookout points, and more. ?Compiling such a report requires excellent organizational skills and a solid linguistic ability as well as a solid foundation in ecological science, GIS technology, and spatial analysis,? according to Andy Fyfe, P.L.A.N.?s Stewardship and Education Coordinator. Phillips?s plan ?continues to inform ongoing work on this property,? Fyfe added, and several of her recommendations? an educational kiosk, a visitors center?are now being installed. A community-cleanup day on April 25 quickly drew a full quota of willing volunteers.

A passion for the outdoors comes naturally to Phillips, who grew up in a Vermont family that hiked and mountain-biked; she plans ?to spend my early twenties leading wilderness adventures, then teach high-school science in an outdoor setting.? To that end, last spring she spent a wilderness-education semester at the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS); this summer?s job involves leading backpacking trips for teens in Yosemite; next fall she will study tropical biology in Costa Rica. Eventually, there will be graduate school. It?s all on track. ?Ever since NOLS, my interests have fueled my education,? says Phillips. ?I figure that if I do what I most want to do, I?ll end up in a great place.?

Sounds like a great plan. ~By Barbara Melville

(Photo by David Mishler ?09)