Submitted by: Alcoa
On Friday, July 12, NatureBridge Alcoa scholars Evelyn Lukanen and Liam Mitchell visited Intalco works to meet the Intalco team and take a plant tour. The students, both high school juniors from Bellingham, were selected from a competitive pool of 150+ applicants to participate the 2019 NatureBridge Alcoa Scholars program.
The two-week program – fully funded by Alcoa Foundation – will host 63 scholars from Alcoa communities in six countries to Yosemite National Park in California and Olympic National Park in Washington. Evelyn and Liam will be headed to Yosemite National Park this August for a six-day backpacking trip through the Sierra Nevada range in California, along with 11 other students and two teachers.
“I applied because I like being outdoors and meeting new people,” said Liam, a junior at Sehome High School. Evelyn, a junior at Squalicum High School said she was interested in learning more about sustainability and education. The program will also focus on Alcoa Foundation’s key areas of reducing climate change and enhancing biodiversity.
The students met with Ron Jorgensen and Laura McKinney on Friday to learn about aluminum production, then toured the plotlines and cast house with Jair Furnas, accompanied by their parents. During their tour the students were shown the methods Intalco uses to reduce emissions, recycle scrap aluminum and operate our facility as efficiently as possible.
The Alcoa Scholars Program was developed six years ago with the aim of bringing together a diverse group of youth from Alcoa communities around the world for an intensive hands-on environmental science education experience in some of earth’s most beautiful protected lands.
To find out more about the NatureBridge Alcoa Scholars program, visit https://naturebridge.org.
