Best of 2012: 4) Going "green" is a natural choice

We're bringing in the new year with a look back at our milestones for 2012. Check back each day for featured events and activities from across the Northeast!

The headquarters and visitor center of the Long Island National Wildlife Refuge
Complex in Shirley has a number of sustainable features.

Have you gone "green" yet? In 2012, the Service’s Northeast Region worked to reduce our carbon footprint. We made some “green” improvements this year, which included making some changes to facilities and participating in sustainable practices that supported species recovery efforts.

A week with the terns: Great Gull Island

Today you're hearing from one of the interns in our regional office, Rani Jacobson. Rani is in the Career Discovery Internship Program and will be a junior this year at Ithaca College, where she studies environmental science.

Rani Jacobson with a tern chick. Credit: Venice Wong.

After an hour of flying across the water in a fishing boat, the small Great Gull Island came into view. After docking, terns flew above us, screaming, and I could not help but feel a sinking feeling of apprehension as we were dive-bombed.