PCEC welcomes three Conservation Leadership Summer Interns
Welcome to our blog! We are the Conservation Leadership Summer Interns here at Park County Environmental Council. As members of the Park High School Green Initiative, we hope to uphold PCEC’s mission to protect Yellowstone’s Northern gateway’s land, water, wildlife, and people. This summer, we plan to get involved through a variety of outreach programs, which we’ll talk more about in our future blogs.
Hello! My name is Severn Sienkiewicz. The first time I began to appreciate public lands was when I lived in Vermont and could walk into the Green Mountain National Forest from my backyard. When we moved to Livingston, I began to understand the complexity of public lands issues. The house we moved into is right next to a ranch, and the trail at the top of our road goes through acres of private land before reaching the Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness. I’ve since grown passionate about keeping public lands public and pristine. I’ve been a part of some very cool groups like Green Initiative at Park High, and I’ve also learned some hard lessons about the politics that seem to control the natural environment. I’m very excited about this opportunity to continue practicing and learning about environmental advocacy.
Hi I’m Annika Coleman. When I was about twelve, I found out about polar bears and their fuzzy faces and instantly fell in love. Shortly after, I found out how long that love will last — mainly due to the quite negative changes we have inflicted as a society on our planet in the last few centuries. This was the first time I ever truly thought about the effect I have on this planet and especially in our beautiful outdoor spaces in Montana. Ever since then, I’ve been getting involved with as many groups and actions against climate change and for sustainability as I can in school and the community. Sophomore year, I joined the Park High Green Initiative, went vegetarian, and applied to the Park County Environmental Council Conservation Internship for the first time. Finally, the third time was the charm. Going into my senior year, I feel so lucky to have this great opportunity to learn more about what we as a community can do to protect this great wilderness so many of us call home.
Hi, I’m Stella Davis. My freshman year, I was approached by a senior at lunch demanding to go to a Green Initiative meeting. I, of course, attended. At the time, the club only had about 10 girls in it. Every Wednesday, we would head around the school sorting through the recycling, weighing it, and then eventually taking it to the transfer station. Over time, more people who are passionate about recycling in our schools and our planet as a whole joined our little club. We have now established solar power in our school as well as raising all of the funds to do it through grants, local business and community member donations, and fundraisers. This past Earth Day, Severn, Annika, and I, along with other Green Initiative members and PCEC organized an Earth Day event in which we raised almost $2,000 through a silent auction. At this event, there were also demonstrations from our club members on sustainability challenges they completed, i.e. wearing one dress/overalls for a week, being vegan/vegetarian for a week, or going zero-waste for a week, and a Green Business Award for the most sustainable business in Park County, given to Cactus Blossom Collective. Being around other people who are passionate about the environment fuels my passion for this. I’m excited to work with a great group of people this summer, and I will hopefully be able to carry over everything I’ve learned into my senior year and beyond.