Ashley Jones poses with Patty Brennan from the Wildwood Lions Club and Jeanne Zlonis from the Mahtomedi Area Green Initiative (MAGI).

Congratulations to Mahtomedi High School graduating senior Ashley Jones, the recipient of the 2022 MAGI / Wildwood Lions Environmental Leadership Award.  The $1,000 award celebrates Ashley’s initiative and aims to encourage future student engagement and innovation in defining and solving environmental problems.

Ashley has been the president of the high school Eco Club the past two years, creating and implementing a variety of projects focused on conservation and the environment. In 2021 the Eco Club constructed a “Trash Boat” out of discarded plastic bottles collected at the school.  Under her leadership the club coordinated a public event at Mahtomedi Beach last spring and sailed the 11-foot boat on White Bear Lake to draw attention to overconsumption of plastics and waste in our community.

Ashley is planning to attend the University of Minnesota Twin Cities in the fall to pursue a degree in journalism. She hopes to use her strengths as a communicator and her passion for the environment to increase public awareness and highlight the need for a more sustainable future.