Sea turtles and sustainability: Levine Scholar Avery Taylor commits to environmental advocacy

Avery Taylor is a senior and Levine Scholar majoring in environmental sciences and geology. She has dedicated her college experience to sustainability, wildlife conservation and environmental advocacy. From volunteering with the Carolina Raptor Center to working on sea turtle conservation at Edisto Beach State Park and being involved with the Charlotte Green Initiative, Taylor has combined hands-on fieldwork with initiatives that raise awareness about environmental change.

Taylor shares more about her experiences in wildlife conservation, campus sustainability initiatives and her vision for the future in this Q&A.

What sparked your interest in sustainability?

I grew up on a farm, and my mom was always getting me outside and getting me to play in the garden and help her, so I think I just always loved the outdoors. I also took a class in high school called Climate Change Biology. At the time, I had heard of climate change, but I wasn’t educated on it. I think just learning about all the little nuances and how it affects different kinds of wildlife and different plant species was what sparked my interest.

What is the Charlotte Green Initiative?

The Charlotte Green Initiative is a council of students at UNC Charlotte who steward the student Green Fund, which is $1 per semester of every student’s tuition, and the money goes toward funding sustainability on campus. If an organization wants to have a sustainability-focused event and they want to incorporate sustainability in some way, that’s something we would fund.

Can you tell me about your volunteer work with the Carolina Raptor Center?

Carolina Raptor Center is a nonprofit organization in Huntersville, North Carolina. They focus on raptor rehabilitation — meaning they perform surgeries and rehabilitate birds of prey that are injured or sick. Most of what I do is on the raptor trail, which is where people can come through and learn about raptors. I stand on the trail and usually will have some interactive activities for guests to come by and do. They’re really focused on kids, but adults really like them, too.

Can you tell me about your summer internship?

I interned with the loggerhead sea turtle project in South Carolina, where I worked at Edisto Beach State Park, and lived there the whole summer. There were two parts to the internship. The first part was sea turtle patrol, which consisted of morning patrols to look for signs of nesting activity. We also patrolled at night, looking for people who had bright white lights, which are a distraction to nesting turtles. The second part of the internship was working at the park’s Environmental Learning Center.

Do you want to work in sustainability in the future?

I would love to work in sustainability. There’s nothing like being in contact with wildlife, but at the same time, I’m also interested in policy and creating change. I think if I could get the perfect mix of hands-on field work and policy change, then that would be awesome.