Alonso Castillo
Meet Alonso Castillo
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Meet Alonso Castillo, age 17, a Hood River High School senior. For the last two summers, Alonso participated in The Next Door Inc.’s Summer Youth Employment Program.
“My experience was amazing, I did it two years in a row,” said Alonso. “It was a good program. It shows you a lot of good knowledge of how to use different tools., Plus, you get to know cool people there, people you wouldn’t normally talk to at school or different places.” Over the years, Columbia Riverkeeper has teamed up with the Youth Employment Program engaging students to support restoration at the Nichols Natural Area conservation easement located on the Hood River waterfront. The program includes teens from Hood River and Wasco counties, giving youth on-the-ground work skills with an emphasis on outdoor education and natural resource management.
The transformation of students and the Nichols site during the summer is pretty stunning. Students learn new skills while keeping spotted knapweed and blackberries at bay, allowing space for trees and new friendships to thrive.
Alonso will be attending Mt. Hood Community College to study engineering next fall. “I was thinking about being a park ranger and hopefully those skills from this experience will help,” he shared.
Columbia Riverkeeper will continue fighting for the opportunity to create a better future.
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