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During these years, I explored my artistic talents painting landscapes from memory, and imagination. Following the teachings of Bob Ross, on PBS. Eventually, I took it further, watching Wild America and seeing Marty Stouffer amplified my interest in wildlife and I started adding animals to my paintings. Using magazine photos, and field guides as references for my wildlife paintings. Then one Christmas I receive my first SLR camera which was to begin another chapter in my life. With this camera I began photographing subjects and using my photographs as references rather than magazines. Eventually the excitement, of stalking and hunting birds and wildlife to capture on film became more interesting. It allowed me to be out in the wild enjoying and observing the natural wonders. My interest in wildlife increase, out of necessity, I needed to get closer, and I needed to know where to find the creatures. No longer was it good enough to go out haphazardly and try to photograph animals in the wild, I needed an edge. I started reading books and magazine on the subject. Throughout high school, I continued photographing and was lucky enough to take a class in photography. By my senior year, I was
the rare few who knew what they wanted to do in college, I wanted to
be a wildlife biologist.
After high school, I spent two years at
Nassau Community College
where I focus on science and when possible took a few art courses.
With all my accumulated knowledge from those Catskill trips
through to community college I transferred to the most prestigious
school in the state of New York that dealt with wildlife biology,
SUNY-College of Environmental Science
and Forestry.
There I mastered the skills needed to achieve a career in
this under appreciated field.
I can still remember the first sentence that I heard at
orientation, “…this is not a field that people enter to get rich, it
is a field for those who wish to make a difference.”
At the time it really meant nothing to me, but would troubled
me in the future. The
experience itself; being in a school surrounding by students and
professors who were interested in the same things I was.
Having the ability to go out on field trips, to share
experiences with friends who enjoyed the wildlife and the outdoors
almost as much as I did.
To be able to drive three minutes from my apartment and into
my childhood “woods” surrounding the college in Syracuse.
It was pure heaven. During
those four college years, I was lucky enough to find a summer job
working in the same field I wish to eventually work in.
After being interviewed by the deputy commissioner of the
town Hempstead’s department of Conservation and Waterways, I began
my tour of duty at the Marine Nature Study Area as a seasonal
intern. With the same
excitement I had in the Catskills, monitoring my birdhouses, I began
monitoring, photographing and observing the incredible bird life in
the salt marshes of Oceanside. In the spring 1999 I
graduated from SUNY-College of
Environmental Science and Forestry with a B.S. in
Environmental Science and Forest Biology (wildlife related biology),
I returned to Marine Nature Study Area and continued my work while I
applied and sent resumes out to state, local, and several
not-for-profit and profit organizations.
After receiving replies from several groups to my surprise
the one quickest to respond was the town of Hempstead.
This begins yet another chapter in my life. One
thing college did not prepare me for was the enormous amount of red
tape that keeps municipal facilities whether they be federal, state,
or local together. The
constant waiting for things to get done plays havoc on my mental
abilities. My
duties here at the study area, include: biological
studies, aquarium maintenance, janitorial duties, repair and
maintenance, landscaping, exhibit design and outdoor education. On my
days off, I continued to explore the wilds of Long Island.
Believe it or not I visit other parks and preserves
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In
the year of our Lord 1976 on the 19th of October, I was
born to Roseann and Robert Farina.
