Outward and Upward
Outward Bound participants share their thoughts with Interior secretary and EPA administrator
By André Coleman 07/15/2010
Two local teenagers had their say on bettering public lands and improving youth engagement in that process last week after meeting briefly with Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar.
Outward Bound Adventures (OBA) members Samuel Hutchins, 17, Tori Williams, 18, and about 20 other youngsters met with Salazar last Friday in Malibu after hearing the secretary speak about President Barack Obama’s initiative, a 21st Century Strategy for America’s Great Outdoors.
In related news, beginning this Friday nine children from Pasadena and Altadena involved with the OBA program will spend 22 days working as paid interns at Olympic National Park in the state of Washington. Ranging from 15 to 18 years old, the youths are students at Westridge School, John Muir High School, Marshall Fundamental High School, Pasadena High School and Rose City Continuation School.
The president’s outdoors initiative, according to the White House Web site, is part of an effort to collect the best ideas on conservation and reconnect Americans to the environment. To help that happen, members of the administration are hosting regional sessions around the country.
Also attending last Friday’s meeting in Malibu were EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson and Nancy Sutley, chair on the White House Council on Environmental Quality.
“They did exceptionally well,” Outward Bound Adventures Executive Director Charles Thomas said of Hutchins and Williams. “They knew the questions. Our organization is about introducing underserved kids to the outdoors. They represented Pasadena and the LA area quite well.”
Hutchins and Williams, both students at John Muir High, are interning with the US Forest Service and are considering careers in conservation.
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