Avery is one of our newest yearlong Americorps/UCC individual placements serving her first Americorps term as Environmental Educator and Animal Caretaker. She grew up in Utah and attended Southern Utah University where she completed her B.A. in Environmental Sustainability with a certificate as an NAI Certified Interpretive Guide. Her final project in school explored the impacts of native and non-native invasive riparian vegetation in Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. 

While attaining her undergraduate degree, Avery interned at Zion National Park as their first sustainability interpreter. She worked with the education and facilities departments to create programs in support of their Don’t Feed the Landfill initiative. In caring for this mission, she provided environmental and animal based interpretive programs out on the trails to all ages. This experience helped her realize her passion for teaching others environmentally sustainable practices and grew her enthusiasm for learning about the natural world. 

Teaching communities about the environment and caring for animals at the Ogden Nature Center is a dream come true for Avery. This year she will be assisting the team with outreach and curriculum based teaching around Utah as well as caring for the animals that call ONC home. In her free time, you can find her spending time with friends and family or adventuring outdoors.