Welcome Ashley Grell, our new GreenCorps Member!
We are pleased to welcome Ashely Grell as our new GreenCorp Member, serving Urban Roots 2016-17. Ashley is a graduate of St. Catherine University (2013) with a degree in biology. Her study abroad in Germany, where she focused on environmental studies, inspired her return to the Twin Cities to implement many of the same green living practices.
Her role as a GreenCorp Member at Urban Roots will build on her work with the Como Park Zoo and Conservatory where she engaged in community education on a wide variety of topics, including natural history and global conservation. Her experiences with other non-profits also focused on education, outreach, training and building volunteer relationships. We are grateful to have her expertise on board to help expand our public programming and enhance our volunteer outreach. Ashley’s goals are a perfect fit for Urban Roots Programs, she notes: “there are a few goals I would like to achieve this year serving at Urban Roots. One is to learn about and better understand the local conservation issues that impact Minnesota, especially in the Twin Cities area. Urban Roots works on a variety of conservation and preservation projects, including habitat restoration, implementing and maintaining rain and pollinator gardens and citizen science projects which include insect surveying, water sampling and forest inventories. I hope to learn more about various conservation practices and different ways of preserving natural areas. I would also like to add to my experience and knowledge about education and outreach, expanding my experience to include youth education and outreach. Finally, I am excited to learn more about local gardening and the environmental and social benefits it provides to local communities. “
In her spare time, Ashley enjoys exploring new areas of the cities-favorites include downtown St. Paul and Northeast Minneapolis. “I try to get out and experience new events, festivals, music and food as often as I can. I also enjoy branching out to greater Minnesota to explore new hiking trails and smaller towns that have interesting histories.”
