Meet Laura Casne, an AmeriCorps member, who has been serving with Conservation Nebraska for the past year.
Laura moved to Nebraska when she was three, living in both Lincoln and a little town south of Omaha called Beaver Lake. Living in a rural area gave Laura the opportunity to swim, fish, and explore both the agricultural and wooded areas surrounding her community, something that many do not get in more urban areas. At the time, it was something that she took for granted, and in some cases, did not always take part in.
When Laura decided to attend college, she chose the University of Nebraska – Lincoln for their meteorology program (weather was something that had fascinated her as a child growing up in the Midwest).
While she always had an appreciation for the aesthetic of nature and tried to recycle and live sustainably, it wasn’t something she thought about heavily until college. During her freshman year, she took a class that covered the quality of the environment and this helped her understand that we, as humans, are important advocates for the natural environment and all that inhabits it. This class pushed her to change her plans, and she moved towards an environmental studies degree.
Today, Laura is looking to increase interest in the community on the environment and everything that comes with it. She believes there is no age limit to becoming an environmental advocate, you just have to find some part of it to be passionate about. By joining Conservation Nebraska’s Common Ground Program, Laura has been able to inform her community about how they can increase their environmentally friendly behaviors with easy ways to live sustainably, increasing knowledge of different environmental issues, and tips on leaving our communities healthy for our fellow neighbors.
