A growing group of teenagers are becoming ambassadors for conservation in communities across Pennsylvania. These youth are students and graduates of the Wildlife Leadership Academy, a year-round experience where high school students learn about wildlife conservation and develop leadership skills.
Young people are passionate about wildlife conservation and want to be involved. The Wildlife Leadership Academy provides them with the knowledge, skills, and contacts to start making a difference. Students learn in-depth about wildlife species and their habitat from top biologists and make connections with conservation professionals representing state agencies and leading organizations from across the state.
The Academy begins with an intensive, week-long unique field school experience that focuses on a single wildlife species as a springboard for exploring wildlife biology and conservation issues. One field school, called Pennsylvania Bucktails, focuses on white-tailed deer. The other, Pennsylvania Drummers, features Ruffed Grouse, the Pennsylvania state bird.
During the field school, youth work in teams and learn leadership skills through team-building activities, educational presentations, and mock "town hall" meetings. They create PowerPoint presentations and displays to use for community outreach presentations after the field school. Applying what they have learned to conservation outreach, the youth work with community-based organizations, conservation organizations, state agencies and other interested groups after the field school.
Multiple benefits
Students keep a record of their community outreach efforts which include educational presentations, media involvement, service work, and the arts such as photography or journaling. Top outreach achievements qualify the students for educational field trips and the opportunity to return to field school tuition-free as mentors. Outreach also qualifies them to compete for college scholarships.
Molly Diefenbach of Centre County, a student at Pennsylvania Drummers, said the feeling she got from doing her outreach was not what she expected.
"I was surprised by how accomplished and proud I felt after completing each outreach activity - whether it was speaking to a crowd of 200 or finishing up another entry in my nature journal alone in the woods," she said. "Wildlife conservation and the outdoors are something I feel very passionate about, and doing my outreach is an outlet for me to express that."
Kip Adams, certified wildlife biologist and Director of Education and Outreach - Northern Region for Quality Deer Management Association, noted that the outreach experiences expose the students to different viewpoints.
"The experience can teach them a lot about themselves as well as stress the need to be as knowledgeable as possible about the material they teach."
Youth bring home lessons
Bernie Schmader, a member of the Conservation Officers of Pennsylvania Association (COPA), said how impressed he was with a young woman from the Academy who presented at their annual meeting.
"Her article and oral report reassures our members and others that there are intelligent, interested, dedicated and understanding young people who are preparing to step up and carry on in our efforts to promote and safeguard Pennsylvania's precious fish, wildlife and other natural resources."
These youth have taken the Academy's mission to heart. To date, Academy graduates have conducted 309 conservation education, communication, and service projects; engaged in more than 1,300 contact hours with the public; and reached an audience of more than 8,000 Pennsylvania citizens across 40 counties in the state.
Academy Director Michele Kittell said the participants are "the next generation to speak for wildlife conservation."
"We hope the leadership of Academy youth in their home communities will inspire others to care more and therefore act more on behalf of the environment." she said.
Wildlife Leadership Academy is a cooperative initiative involving several state agencies and conservation organizations and is administered by the Pennsylvania Institute for Conservation Education. The program brings the knowledge and expertise of many prominent biologists, including representatives of Audubon PA, Kutztown University, Pennsylvania Game Commission, Pennsylvania State University, Quality Deer Management Association, Ruffed Grouse Society, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers directly to high school students.
Applications sought
The Wildlife Leadership Academy is now taking applications for the 2011 field schools. Interested students may download an application at www.PICEweb.org by clicking the youth programs link. The application deadline is April 1, 2011. PA Drummers will be held at the Powdermill Nature Reserve in Westmoreland County June 21-25. PA Bucktails will be held at Stone Valley Recreation Area in Huntingdon County July 5-9.
For more information, contact Wildlife Leadership Academy Director, Michele Kittell, at mkittell@piceweb.org or (570)245-8518.
