Lily Simko

Idaho is my home. While we may be famous for potatoes, us North Idahoans get our spuds from Washington. My hometown, Hope, is nestled in the Cabinet Mountains, 60 miles South of the Canadian border on the shores of Lake Pend Oreille. It’s never been easy leaving such a beautiful place, but I’ve spent the last five years in Missoula, MT earning a degree in Environmental Science and Sustainability, a climate change studies minor, and a GIS certificate. My time in Missoula was defined by access to public lands and wilderness never further than a 10-minute bike ride from downtown. This crossover of people and wild spaces living so closely nurtured what was once a gut instinct, but has slowly grown into a core belief: Caring for the natural world is one of the best opportunities there is for cultivating healthy, happy people and communities. I am so excited to continue to learn what it means to be a good steward to our home and carve out spaces and places that feed us and connect us to something larger. When I’m not enjoying studying a nice map, I love spending time with my horse, skiing, backpacking, and, most recently, learning how to fix up old bikes.