Caroline Dillard Free Response 4: Fear to Hope

 This semester I got more heavily involved in Dr. Atkinson’s research lab. This has been an amazing experience for me. I presented at Paideia last Friday, learned how to core a tree, measure tree rings, measure the photosynthetic rate of plants and gained a lot of great friends. Next year I am taking on a leadership role as the student lead of the Fear to Hope program. Fear to Hope addresses global climate change with local scientific, research-based solutions driven by interdisciplinary high school and CNU student collaboration. This year, each high school investigated the salt tolerance and resilience of Atlantic white cedar seedlings. The Fear to Hope Symposium is this Friday. Several ninth graders and environmental professionals will be in attendance. The students get to share their findings from the year long experience and talk to the professionals. Being a part of a program that turns fear of climate change into hope is really awesome.

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