Ward Melville High School students Elyas Masrour, Maya Pena-Lobel and Ethan Winter were invited to participate in Avalon Park and Preserve’s W.E.Y.E.S. (Western Exploration for Young Environmental Stewards) program this fall. 

As a result of their exemplary participation in the park’s youth programs, the students were granted a scholarship opportunity to explore Yellowstone National Park’s flora, fauna, geology and ecology for a week in late September. Hiking through Yellowstone’s backcountry, Elyas, Ethan and Maya observed wolves, bears, bison, elk, eagles and countless other species. In what participants described as a life-changing week, the young travelers were able to work with world-class guides, biologists, wildlife photographers and other experts in their fields. 

They were accompanied on the trip by Gelinas teacher Doug Elliot, who is also co-founder of the Avalon Outdoor Leadership program, a program that aims to get youngsters into the outdoors and connected to the environment in which they live.