Allow me to introduce myself! I am Alyssa Thornburg, World Salmon Council’s new Education Intern. I am very excited for the opportunity to assist Lizanne Saunders, our Executive Director, with administering our Salmon Watch education program this year.
Growing up as the daughter of a biologist father and a mother who would always rather be hiking and bird watching, it isn’t surprising that I didn’t fall far from the environmental tree, so to speak. My experience growing up in Grants Pass, OR, a beautiful valley in the Cascades, was one that allowed me ample opportunities to be immersed in the natural beauty that my home has to offer.
I have countless memories of taking hikes with my parents and older sister walking stick nearly taller than I was, as my dad challenged us to identify native trees, flowers and birds. These experiences, coupled with my father’s continual reminders at home to turn off lights and run less water (in what I perceived at the time as hypercritical demands) slowly allowed me to develop an environmental consciousness.
I was older by the time I fit the pieces of the environmental puzzle together, finally realizing how profound an impact our lifestyles have on wildlife and our natural environment. The more I learned, the more I knew I would spend my life striving to protect our environment, hoping to be a voice for those that cannot speak themselves.
I journeyed on to the University of Portland, where I have spent the last four years reading, writing, learning, becoming discouraged but yet even more inspired by ways in which I can engage in meaningful environmental change. My education as an Environmental Ethics and Policy major was fundamentally interdisciplinary, allowing me to consider the intersection of the environment with other disciplines such as religion, education, literature, economics etc.
Concern for the environment is in the interest of every person on our fragile planet. Every one of us must care for nature in the best way we know how. For me, this translated to getting involved in numerous extracurricular experiences such as serving as an officer for the on-campus College Ecology Club for two years, coordinating an energy reduction competition on campus and serving as student representative on the Presidential Committee on Sustainability. All of these experiences collectively have propelled me into the “real world”, ready to use what I have gained to learn even more and hopefully make a difference along the way. Enter the World Salmon Council.
I am more than excited to be serving as the Education Intern for the World Salmon Council. The revitalization and expansion of the Salmon Watch Program is accomplishing many crucial aspects of wilderness conservation, the first being environmental education. Never has there been a more critical need to provide opportunities for kids and young adults to experience natural spaces in a meaningful way.
As exposure to the outdoors continues to diminish among my generation and those following, conservation efforts depend heavily on the experiences that kids today have, impacting their decisions as future professionals and policy makers. Education about wild salmon conservation is also advocating for a keystone species deeply characteristic of the Pacific Northwest. There is perhaps nothing more iconic to our region than the wild salmon. At my graduation ceremony this May, I chose to adorn my cap with a small but brightly colored salmon, which I believe best encapsulates my past education and my future as an environmentalist.
To have an opportunity to work for the World Salmon Council is an incredible honor for me. I hope to be able to contribute to the growth and success of this organization as it continues to impact kids and fish alike, in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest
I thank you for taking the time to learn a little bit about me, and I look forward to meeting and working with you in the coming months! Feel free to contact me at [email protected].
-Alyssa Thornburg
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