Kaitlin Rommelfanger

2024 Short-Term Workforce Fellow

Kaitlin Rommelfanger began her 8-week Securing STEM Island Pathways Fellowship in the Grimes Lab at the University of the Virgin Islands in June, shortly after completing the Master of Marine and Environmental Science program at the University of the Virgin Islands.

The Grimes lab provided the opportunity to participate in fieldwork for the Territorial Mangrove Monitoring Program where she was able to gain unique field experience helping monitor permanent plots within several different mangrove forests around the territory. Mangrove fieldwork was often muddy but always a very rewarding experience.

Kaitlin enjoys data analysis and is interested in a career that involves working with data. During her fellowship, she was able to work visualizing and analyzing a dataset from an experiment ran within the GRROE mangrove nursery, that looked at the effect of different treatments on the sprouting of mangrove propagules. This experiment along with others being performed in the nursery are important to grow our understanding of best practices for mangrove growth. Once published, they will help to provide more information for others growing mangroves for restoration of coastal ecosystems.