Author: Tawnee Milko

Tawnee Milko, MEM '12, focused her graduate degree on spoken, written, and visual modes of environmental communication that can connect, educate and/or inspire sustainable behavioral change in average citizens, communities, decision-makers, scientists, businesses, and the media. Her love for the environment began at a young age, when, every summer, her family would spend weeks camping in national parks throughout the U.S. and Canada. During her undergraduate experience at Oakland University, Tawnee worked with students, faculty, staff, and administration as the student liaison to the University’s Board of Trustees. She spent her summers restoring degraded habitats in New Zealand; kayaking and learning about algae and forest ecosystems at the University of Michigan Biological Station; living in a treehouse in the Vermont wilderness; tracking poison dart frogs in the Costa Rican rainforest; and monitoring cetaceans off the Osa Peninsula.

Tawnee Milko
July 15, 2011May 10, 2013 Tawnee Milkointernships, Organizing Grassroots Campaigns in Asheville NC, Slide Shows, students, travel

That Asheville Magic

To commemorate the Harry Potter mania sweeping the globe, I’ve posted pictures of some of the most magical places I’ve found around Asheville, NC.

Tales From The Campaign Trail

The GNSA Campaign hits the road in the small mountain communities where the campaign began in 2006. The towns of Blowing Rock, Boone, Banner Elk, Valle Crucis, and other small local communities have an economyContinue reading

Nonprofit Notables

As I reach the mid-point of my summer internship experience, I’ve been reflecting on my decision to work at a small nonprofit in Asheville rather than with a large nonprofit in DC. While I ofContinue reading

Wild South Staff Retreat: Into The Woods of the GNSA

In which a staff bonding experience involves four days of camping in the mountains… while hosting a series of key GNSA campaign events. In a stroke of luck, this summer’s Wild South staff retreatContinue reading

An Affair to Remember

Lying amongst several hundred acres of flowering Catawba Rhododendrons and flame azaleas watching the sun sink over the Appalachian Trail crowns my ongoing love affair with the Roan Highland Balds. I’d seen pictures and heardContinue reading

A “RAD” Afternoon

At 12:30 pm Saturday “morning,” I awoke to a bright, beautiful summer day. Two of my fellow Nich School Asheville interns, Liz and Maura, and I decided to enjoy the sunshine at the River ArtsContinue reading

Just Another Day In Paradise

Another beautiful, sunny day in the Blue Ridge Mountains (those seem to be in abundance here) warranted another outdoor adventure. Today’s destination? The North Carolina Arboretum, a 434-acre public garden in Pisgah National Forest. AnyoneContinue reading

Memorial Day in the Blue Ridge Mountains – Slideshow

Join the MEM Asheville interns and our trusty mascot Roscoe on a drive down the Blue Ridge Parkway, a hike up Craggy Gardens, and a sunset at the Grove Park Inn.

The GNSA: Simple Concept; Difficult Implementation

Setting aside a relatively minuscule 25,500 acres of the Pisgah National Forest as a National Scenic Area (out of the Pisgah’s total 510,00 acres) to protect from logging the aesthetic services it provides should beContinue reading

Only the Beginning of the Adventure…

Within the past week, I have returned from Duke’s notoriously awesome Western Field Trip, found a lovely summer residence in beautiful Asheville, North Carolina, moved completely out of my apartment in Durham… … and takenContinue reading