[ EVERGREENS]
CLEAN SWEEP
dominique biondi '10 helps the gulf spring back to life By BOB BENNETT
FOR
most of the winter, Dominique Biondi ’10 woke up at 5 or 6 a.m. and combed the beaches of the Gulf of Mexico, looking for signs of life.
Dominique Biondi (orange vest) watches as workers find a tar mat on West Point Island, Ala.
10
Sequel | Summer 2011
Photo courtesy of BP America
The beaches have already been heavily damaged by the 5 million barrels of oil that spewed into the Gulf following the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in April 2010. She wants to make sure the people cleaning it up won’t damage it further. Biondi, 23, graduated with a degree in fisheries and wildlife sciences; she joined BP’s cleanup effort
last November and worked until the spring, though she plans to head back this fall. During her months on the job, Biondi monitored efforts to restore beaches in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi, joining the ranks of thousands of people working on the biggest accidental oil spill ever. “It’s tragic, but you have to look at it as a lesson,” she says of the oil that is still