In Their Own Words: Erin Tharp

From a young age, I have had a deep connection to the Earth. Growing up, I spent many summers going to my grandparent's ranch in Northern California. I would garden with my grandmother and then cook meals with everything we harvested and spend hours hiking through the Redwood Forest. These experiences formed my initial connection to mother nature and allowed me to appreciate her beauty as well as everything she offers us.

 Since then, I have had the opportunity to travel to many beautiful places around the world seeing endangered animals on land such as the orangutang in Borneo, tigers in India and the beautiful world below water looking at the bleached coral reefs in Thailand and Manatees in Belize. Having had the opportunity to travel and see breathtaking views and beautiful landscapes as well as degraded ones, I now understand why we need the earth and why we should protect it. 

By obtaining my master's in Conservation and Restoration Science, I am dedicating my career to making the natural world a healthier place and doing my part to inspire the rest of the world to care and understand how their actions affect the environment. Earth Day gives everyone the opportunity to reflect and appreciate all that the natural world does for us. We would not be here without Mother Nature and thus we should protect her as she protects us. If we can learn how to live in harmony with the natural world by taking care of it, the environment will do its part by continuing to provide for us for generations to come.