He’s Ahl About Biking and the Environment
August 17, 2018
Peter Ahl
By Phil Walzer
Peter Ahl worked as an air traffic controller and a mechanical engineer in the Coast Guard before enrolling in park, recreation and tourism studies in 2015.
Ahl, 33, had been a regular backpacker, but he didn't know how much he'd end up loving the major. "This pulled the hidden passion out of me and made it the foundation for my life," he says.
He received his bachelor's degree in May and is pursuing his master's degree, serving as a graduate teaching assistant.
Ahl (pronounced ALL) sports a web of tattoos on his arms with outdoor themes, from trees to a sunrise. His list of activities is even more extensive:
He completed a 40-hour-a-week internship this year at Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia Beach, which included clearing the area of Asiatic sand sedge, an invasive species.
Last year, he presented his research on the value of college rock-climbing gyms to the Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education. His master's thesis is on the effect of after-school programs on the environmental behavior of urban youth.
At ODU, he's been a facilitator at the Courage Miller Partners Challenge Course at Whitehurst Beach and a trip leader for Outdoor Adventure Programs, taking students biking, kayaking or rock-climbing.
Ahl also is the bike technician at the Outdoor Adventure Center - he credits his engineering background and long biking experience with helping him diagnose bike problems. At nearby Larchmont Elementary School, his volunteer activities included a bike clinic, where he checked chains and tires.
Oh, and Ahl has a business, Salvage, which sells T-shirts and sponsors activities to promote environmental awareness. He started early with his 3-year-old daughter, Emma, teaching her how to spot trail blazes at First Landing State Park in Virginia Beach.
"We have to reopen our eyes and realize this is the only earth we have," Ahl says.
Despite his frenetic schedule, he advocates balance: "It's OK to put things on the back burner and not let it get to you. Always find time for yourself. If you don't, you'll never get done what you need to do."
OUTDOOR SUGGESTION FROM PETER AHL
Try False Cape State Park, next to Back Bay and the Atlantic Ocean in Virginia Beach, Ahl says. You have to paddle, hike or bike through Back Bay to False Cape. Then camp overnight on the beach and take in the sunrise. "What a way to start the day. If you're mad after that you need some help."
Read about more 2018 graduates in the spring issue of Monarch magazine at www.odu.edu/monarchmag
