(HARRISBURG, PA)—The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) has named Emily Thorpe as its Student Leadership Coordinator in Pennsylvania.
Through CBF's Student Leadership program, high school students plan and participate in advocacy and restoration activities throughout Pennsylvania's portion of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Student leaders have drafted legislation, shared their clean water concerns with elected officials in Harrisburg and Washington, D.C., and will soon launch a campaign to get a bill passed in Pennsylvania.
"With Emily's leadership, the young people in our Student Leadership program will continue to strengthen their individual and collective voices," CBF's Pennsylvania Executive Director Harry Campbell said. "At the same time they are making a real difference in the fight for clean water in Pennsylvania and downstream to the Chesapeake Bay."
"I look forward to providing more opportunities for our young leaders to voice their concerns about clean water and environmental conservation in their local communities," Thorpe said. "I'm really excited to come on board during such an important year as we prepare for the '50 Forward' event where our student leaders will showcase their passion for clean water."
"50 Forward" is a six-day experience this summer where student leaders will be outside and active in nature by hiking, fishing, boating, observing, and paddling natural areas in the Bay watershed.
CBF is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and has been working in Pennsylvania for over 30 years.
CBF's State of the Bay report indicates that the Clean Water Blueprint is improving the health of the Chesapeake Bay, but Pennsylvania's efforts lag far behind the other principle Bay states.
Roughly 19,000 miles of Pennsylvania's rivers and streams are damaged by pollution and the Keystone State provides half of the freshwater that flows into the Chesapeake Bay.
Thorpe succeeds Lane Whigham, who is the new Outreach and Advocacy manager for CBF in Pennsylvania.
She joined CBF's Susquehanna Watershed Environmental Education Program (SWEEP) in 2015 as assistant manager. Through SWEEP, students enjoy paddling canoes and investigating the health of local waterways through a variety of hands-on activities like up-close studies of the bugs and other species living in the water.
A native of Glenn Dale, Md., Thorpe graduated from Salisbury University in Maryland with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Studies and a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. After college, she became a Chesapeake Conservation Corps volunteer, working in environmental education and stewardship.
Thorpe lives in Carlisle and is a certified master gardener and a wilderness first responder.
Students and parents interested in learning more about CBF's Student Leadership program can contact Thorpe at [email protected].
