My R-Corps Experience with the American Littoral Society

By Gabriella Santucci
Restoration Corps Member, 2025

Gabriella Santucci (center) with fellow Sandy Hook R-Corps members Vivian Oliver (left) and Rowan Semsel, working with students on Sandy Hook.

This summer, I had the opportunity to participate in the American Littoral Society’s Restoration Corps (R-Corps) program at Sandy Hook in Highlands, NJ. I had wanted to work with the Littoral Society for a few years and was thrilled to see that the Restoration Corps program was being offered at the Sandy Hook location for the first time ever. The goal of this program is to give young environmental professionals with little to no experience an opportunity to gain hands-on training in marine conservation and community engagement.

My favorite part of this program was working with the Littoral Society’s Restoration Team. Throughout the summer, we helped with many different projects across New Jersey — from digging on the beach to find horseshoe crab eggs, to floating all day in Barnegat Bay collecting aquatic vegetation data. There was never a dull moment!

I worked most closely with Julie Schumacher, the Littoral Society’s Habitat Restoration Coordinator, who has been an incredible mentor and friend. She was always willing to answer my questions, was incredibly knowledgeable about the science the Littoral Society conducts, and made even the longest field days fun. Gaining hands-on experience in the environmental sciences is so important, and we had many opportunities to do that this summer as part of the Restoration Corps program.

Gabriella Santucci (L) and Rowan Semsel at a stream survey.

As a member of R-Corps, I also had the chance to travel to parts of New Jersey I had never been before and explore beautiful beaches all over the state. One of my favorite memories was visiting the Delaware Bayshore office in Millville, NJ, with Rowan, one of my fellow Sandy Hook R-Corps members, to complete a habitat and stream assessment certificate program. Our classroom for the day was a lively local stream.

To celebrate completing the certificate program, Rowan and I went to Fortescue Beach afterward to get the full Delaware Bay experience. South Jersey is more remote than North Jersey, so we had the whole beach to ourselves to explore. We found tons of beautiful seashells (which we learned to identify this summer!), horseshoe crabs, and even a stingray! New Jersey is such a diverse state, and we had an amazing and educational day exploring this beautiful area.

As a member of R-Corps, I also had the opportunity to assist with the Littoral Society’s Education programs throughout the summer. One of these experiences included working as a Naturalist on Seastreak Ferries Whale Watching cruises out of Highlands, NJ — one of my favorite experiences!

One of the most incredible things I’ve ever seen was a humpback whale breaching right in front of me. I had only ever seen dolphins before this experience. Being able to learn about humpback whales and see them in the wild was extraordinary! This was one of the many amazing opportunities Samantha Hemming, the Littoral Society’s Education Specialist and our R-Corps Program Coordinator, arranged for us. She helped us become Whale Sense certified, which means we were educated on ethical whale-watching practices and are now able to volunteer with Whale Sense partners such as Seastreak.

Educating kids on marine conservation and science through field trips was another rewarding part of the summer. We got to show them some exciting things, such as seine fishing, seashells, and even live horseshoe crabs!

One of my favorite aspects of the Restoration Corps program was how accessible it was. The program is a paid, part-time work experience that did not require a personal vehicle. Most summer internships are not as inclusive or accessible as this one.
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Gaining hands-on experience in such a supportive environment has been invaluable for our future careers. If anyone is thinking about applying to this program next summer, I would encourage them to do it! I had such a wonderful summer with the American Littoral Society, and I cannot wait to visit everyone and continue working with the Society in the future!

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Sandy Hook R-Corps assisting on a Seastreak Whale Watching cruise. They are (L-R) Rowan Semsel, Vivian Oliver and Gabriella Santucci.