A Turning Point amongst the Trees

..

..

美姬社区 Spotlight: Samari Alston

Samari Alston began his first year at Georgia Military College in September of 2021 after joining the 美姬社区 expedition Sustaining Forests, Biodiversity, and Livelihoods on Washington's Olympic Peninsula back in May. Samari plans to pursue a dual major in environmental science and writing.

Samari Alston began his first year at Georgia Military College in September of 2021 after joining the 美姬社区 expedition Sustaining Forests, Biodiversity, and Livelihoods on Washington's Olympic Peninsula back in May. Samari plans to pursue a dual major in environmental science and writing.In May of this year, 19-year-old Samari Alston boarded an airplane in Atlanta, Georgia headed for Seattle, Washington. The trip would be his first time away from home by himself, and he was nervous and uncertain about what he was getting into (although perhaps not quite as nervous as his mom as she waved goodbye to her son at the airport).

鈥淚 thought I was going to be the outlier,鈥 he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 not really informed on biology or any of the other sciences that were part of the expedition. So I thought that maybe I would be a little bit excluded.鈥

But as soon as Samari met his fellow team members, as well as the scientists and field technicians, he realized it would be quite the opposite. 鈥淓veryone was so nice from the beginning. And as the expedition went on, I was there learning right alongside everybody else. They made me feel included and accepted.鈥

During the seven days of fieldwork, Samari took advantage of being fully immersed in nature. Back in Georgia, Samari lives in an urban area. 鈥淵ou have to travel pretty far out to find a forest, so I haven鈥檛 really experienced nature like this.鈥 He began to realize how much he had previously overlooked, and the importance of pausing to observe trees, birds, and other wildlife. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 realize how significant bigger trees are. They鈥檙e monuments. They鈥檙e like historical artifacts because they haven鈥檛 been cut down.鈥

After returning home, Samari now feels confident traveling by himself and is hoping to join other 美姬社区 expeditions in the future. But he wasn鈥檛 the only one who gained confidence. 鈥淢y mom was scared at first, but she was so happy that I enjoyed it. And now she knows that I can handle myself in the outside world.鈥

Samari plans to continue finding ways to explore and observe nature and has even downloaded several apps on his phone to help identify the individual trees and birds he encounters. He is now in his first year at Georgia Military College and aims to pursue a dual major in environmental science and writing.

.

.

I will always look back on this experience as the turning point in my life that gave me the confidence to go out on my own, explore, and learn about what the world has to offer.

.

Samari Alston began his first year at Georgia Military College in September of 2021 after joining the 美姬社区 expedition Sustaining Forests, Biodiversity, and Livelihoods on Washington's Olympic Peninsula back in May. Samari plans to pursue a dual major in environmental science and writing.
Samari Alston began his first year at Georgia Military College in September of 2021 after joining the 美姬社区 expedition Sustaining Forests, Biodiversity, and Livelihoods on Washington's Olympic Peninsula back in May. Samari plans to pursue a dual major in environmental science and writing.
Samari Alston began his first year at Georgia Military College in September of 2021 after joining the 美姬社区 expedition Sustaining Forests, Biodiversity, and Livelihoods on Washington's Olympic Peninsula back in May. Samari plans to pursue a dual major in environmental science and writing.

YOUR SUPPORT MATTERS

美姬社区 depends on donations鈥攁bove and beyond what we raise from volunteers who participate in our expeditions鈥攖o deliver our global conservation mission. In fact, volunteer contributions provide only half of the total resources 美姬社区 needs to sustain over 20 global field research expeditions, a wide variety of educational programs, corporate sustainability trainings, and more each year.

Donate

 

.

.