Employee Spotlight: Alexandra Beardwood

Meet ORAU employee Alexandra Beardwood! Alexandra is an ORAU contractor working under the National Student Services Contract (NSSC) at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Narragansett, Rhode Island. As a Field and Laboratory Associate, Alexandra works with EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD), the Center for Environmental Measurement and Modeling (CEMM), and the Atlantic Coastal Environmental Sciences Division (ACESD). Alexandra is a member of a multi-disciplinary research team, supporting the analyses of water quality, blue carbon, and carbon dynamics in salt marshes, eelgrass beds, and oyster aquaculture. Some of Alexandra’s work includes the sampling and processing of soil and plant samples, the measurement of water quality and greenhouse gases, and maintenance of mesocosms in an aquatic greenhouse.

Over the past two years, Alexandra has collaborated with a team of Research Ecologists to complete research projects for the ACESD. One of two research projects she assists with aims to quantify the potential benefits of oyster-mediated water clarity enhancements from local aquaculture farms in coastal salt ponds in Rhode Island. This research is essential because it will be utilized to inform future decisions regarding oyster reef restoration as a tool for improving water quality in coastal water bodies. The second project concerns eelgrass (Zostera marina) beds in coastal salt ponds in Rhode Island and how different densities of this plant affect gas fluxes at the water-air interface and sediment carbon storage. This research will inform future decisions about restoring eelgrass beds as a tool for carbon sequestration. Additionally, Alexandra had the opportunity to work on research concerning salt marsh restoration and migration in southern Rhode Island and Narragansett Bay. There, she sampled vegetation and soils to collect data on the characteristics of salt marsh ecosystems, which she applied to restoration monitoring and marsh migration dynamics.

Background

Alexandra hails from Coventry, Rhode Island. Growing up, she spent most of her time outdoors in the woods or at the beach. Alexandra completed her first Environmental Science class at Prout High School in Wakefield, RI, and decided that this was the career path she wanted to pursue. Alexandra graduated with an Associate of Arts degree in Environmental Science from the Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI), through a joint admissions program. Alexandra finished her studies at the University of Rhode Island in 2022, earning a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and Management. It was during her time at URI that she specialized in soil science and freshwater wetland ecology.