Cape Cod College Student Wins New Environmental Scholarship

Christine Harris, who will be a junior at Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York, this fall, has won a new environmental scholarship from a waterways preservation group on Cape Cod.

Chatham, MA (PRWEB) August 4, 2007 -- Christine Harris, 21, a Cape Cod native from Orleans, has won a $2,500 scholarship from the
Friends of Chatham Waterways.
   
The new scholarship is offered to college juniors or seniors majoring in environmental studies or related subjects. The waterways group has supported science education in Cape school systems for years, providing funding for curriculum development and other classroom projects.
   
"This is the first time we've offered a scholarship like this," said Lewis Kimball, chairman of the group's scholarship committee. "The idea behind this scholarship is to encourage young men and women - tomorrow's leaders - to commit themselves to careers in these fields of study."
   
Harris, who will be a junior at Ithaca College in Ithaca, N.Y. this fall, is majoring in environmental studies, with a minor in anthropology. This summer she is working as a ranger at the Cape Cod National Seashore.
   
"Now that I've been away from the Cape for the first extended period of time in my life, I have come to realize how much I appreciate where I'm from," she says. "I'm an outdoors person. I enjoy hiking, canoeing and being in nature. For me, the beauty of the Cape is that I have so many places where I can do what I love."
   
Harris hopes to work in an environmental-related field after graduating. "I think the best way to preserve a resource is through educating the public about its importance," she says. "I hate to see all the development that's been happening here on the Cape, but I do credit many farsighted citizens who have anticipated the population increase and real estate boom. Thanks to them, we have a variety of places which have been preserved."
   
Friends of Chatham Waterways is a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection, use and enjoyment of the Cape's waterways and adjoining lands. It provides information on issues like nitrogen loading, growth management, wastewater management, fisheries and wetlands conservation. Member volunteers also conduct nutrient testing and monitor coastal areas threatened by erosion.
   
Harris will be recognized at the group's annual meeting on Aug. 13.

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