Alumni

Corey Weathers Sees the Big Picture

Alumni Spotlight for Corey Weathers, class of 2003



“My work is coming full circle,” says 2003 IslandWood graduate Corey Weathers. “For me, that means back to education, sustainability and all the things that I felt so passionately about when I started out at IslandWood.”

After earning his MEd through IslandWood and the University of Washington, Corey developed an award-winning employee wellness program for companies including Microsoft, Nintendo, and Google through five years in management with PRO Sports Club in Redmond. 

Now an independent consultant in Resource Conservation Management, Corey helps organizations assess how their employees use energy, water, and manage waste to reduce consumption and negative impact on the environment. A premier client is Horizon House active living community on First Hill in Seattle. Corey is helping Horizon House achieve a goal of becoming the greenest retirement community in the nation.

Corey was recently appointed interim Executive Director of Friends of the Cedar River Watershed working closely with IslandWood and King County on watershed curriculum for Brightwater.  The Cedar River Watershed includes 1.9 million people, 28 cities, and 13 school districts – everything from Edmonds to Kent and from Puget Sound into the Cascade foothills.

“IslandWood provided the most comprehensive learning experience of my life,” says Corey. “Learning never stopped at the classroom door.  Being involved in that type of community really heightens your ability to see the big picture. I think that’s what makes IslandWood so special.”

 

Planting A Seedling in Costa Rica

Alumni Spotlight for Tucker Szymkowicz, class of 2005



Tucker Szymkowicz, an IslandWood graduate student from 2005, is the Executive Director of a new environmental learning project in Costa Rica. CIRENAS (Centro de Investigacion de Recursos Naturales y Sociales) is an innovative initiative originally conceived by Cornell University professors and students for the Caletas-Ario Watershed, part of a recently established public/private nature reserve on the west coast of Costa Rica.

Tucker and his wife, Caroline Grew, have just completed their 3rd year of operations at CIRENAS bringing students together from such schools as Deerfield Academy, Phillips Exeter Academy,  and The Telluride Mountain School, with children from local villages for cultural exchanges, environmental education, and restoration projects.

“I wouldn't be doing this today in Costa Rica without having gone to IslandWood. That was a really transformative experience for me,” says Tucker. “For me IslandWood really blends living in a community and living an examined life while teaching and learning about the environment. Every day we were learning more about our surroundings and ourselves. Everything was really set up that way.”

In the years ahead CIRENAS plans to grow as an environmental research destination. Full semester programs in both ecological and sociological studies for sophomores through seniors in high school will start in January 2012.  They also offer shorter courses for 7th graders to adult groups from the United States and internationally.

“The students come with an open mind and good intentions to help and be involved,” Tucker observes. “Then they leave realizing that they've learned so much more than they anticipated, and that they themselves have been changed by the experience.”

Find out more about CIRENAS at www.cirenas.org