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When Salem State Geography and Sustainability students, Danny Szottfried and Becca Smalley, participated in Professor Stephen Young’s “Drones” class last spring, they weren’t expecting what would come out of it.

In the summer of 2021, Szottfried and Smalley undertook some incredible research with Professor Young’s guidance. Utilizing the drone technology they had learned in the class they’d taken the semester prior, Szottfried and Smalley created a powerfully evocative and collaborative video in which they accompanied drone footage of The Great Marsh with a thoroughly enlightening commentary on climate change in the Northeast.

They received a Flash Grant from the CRCA to work on this project last summer with the goal of reaching people in The Great Marsh area – a feat that they definitely accomplished! The video has since been featured on many online environmental outlets including and and has allowed the North Shore community to engage with immediate climate change concerns in a meaningful way.

Professor Young approached Szottfried and Smalley towards the end of the semester to work on this project and they enthusiastically agreed, knowing that, if the drones class was anything like the project, they would have a blast. They had a surplus of excellent footage to use and Danny said that the hardest part of the project was figuring out what to cut.

Smalley, who works for the Essex Greenbelt, was permitted drone access to the Great Marsh as a result of her relationship with the Greenbelt, and much of the footage was actually filmed on her own drone. She cites a great relationship with Szottfried and Smalley allowing for the wonderful success of this video project.

Szottfried and Smalley are now working on a 1-minute video to introduce new students to the department. Professor Ratner, head of the Salem State Geography and Sustainability department, approached them to work on this after seeing their Great Marsh video. 

Both Szottfried and Smalley express a fondness for working together and with Professor Young, and each has a clear, infectious passion for conservation. We at the CRCA wish both of them well in their endeavors and thank them for the powerful work they’re doing to raise awareness about climate change in our region.

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Learn more about the Center for Research and Creative Activities. All ����ֱ�� students, faculty, and staff are invited to email their research to be featured by the CRCA: ssu-research@salemstate.edu.