Introducing Tori Herkalo, Watershed Education Coordinator based at SUNY Plattsburgh

Tori Herkalo joins Lake Champlain Sea Grant as our Watershed Education Coordinator based at SUNY Plattsburgh. She has extensive experience coordinating youth in environmental education and place-based conservation in upstate New York. She received her undergraduate degree from Siena College in 2018 in Environmental Studies.

Prior to this, Tori was the School Programs Coordinator at The Wild Center in Tupper Lake where she designed new curriculum and innovative programming for K-12 and college students visiting the Center, led community science initiatives, and built relationships with local teachers. She is now looking forward to creating similar opportunities for students and interns around the Lake Champlain region where she grew up.

Tori's favorite free-time activities are gardening, playing yard games on the beach, or hiking in the Adirondack mountains. Recently most of her free-time is devoted to raising her daughter that she welcomed this fall.

"I've been catching critters, getting my hands dirty, and making memories in the outdoors for as long as I can remember. The Lake Champlain region and my outdoor adventures are most of the core memories of my youth. My goal in taking this position is to spark joy and create similar connections to outdoor spaces for a generation that needs it most. I look forward to building a relationship with the community and working with educators and students to realize the value of our watershed and our influence on local ecosystems." 

Tori will lead and expand our Watershed Alliance program in New York to make connections with more schools and reach more students throughout the basin. Watershed Alliance expanded into New York in 2019, allowing our education programs to reach more of the basin. Since the inception of the NY position, the Watershed Alliance program has reached over 1,500 New York K-12 students across the western portion of the watershed and developed strong relationships at Plattsburgh High School, Keene Central, Stafford Middle School, Bouquet Valley and Saranac Lake High School. 

“We are so excited to have Tori joining our education team and excited to see her grow our New York program. Tori brings a wide range of experience in place-based education and expertise in navigating complex topics like climate change in the K-12 classroom, which is needed now more than ever.”  

To learn more about our educational programming in New York State, vhehk001 [at] plattsburgh.edu (email Tori )or check out our Watershed Alliance webpage.