Keeping Lincoln’s Legacy Alive, Growing Conservation Leaders

Absolutely.

Thank you so much for having me.

So for those who haven't heard about it yet, what is the Wildlife Leadership Academy?

The Wildlife Leadership Academy is a youth conservation educational organization based in Lock Haven, but we're statewide in reach, with a mission to engage and empower high sc- high school-aged youth all across the state to become conservation leaders in their home communities.

What was the idea behind creating it 20 years ago that you know of?

There was a program, or there still is a program, in Texas called the Texas Brigades that teaches students about conservation and empowers them to be leaders.

And so, uh, a group of conservationists in Pennsylvania traveled down to see the program and said, "Yes, we have to have this in a state that has so much rich, uh, conservation, hunting, fishing, uh, and outdoor heritage."

Absolutely.

And when you think about developing and empowering young conservation leaders, what does that actually mean? Like, are they outdoor lovers?

So these are usually kids who have some sort of passion for the outdoors, and that could be that they grew up hunting and fishing, or they've enjoyed watching birds, walking through parks in inner city Pittsburgh or Philadelphia.

And so we bring them all together.

Right now, we do that in Central Pennsylvania, and it's such a cool melting pot of students who love the outdoors, have a passion for making a difference in their home communities, and we really take that and elevate that.

It's all things conservation through the lens of bear, deer, uh, turkeys, birds, uh, bass, and brook trout, and then we also teach them about nature journaling and nature photography.

They're learning to just appreciate it on a deeper level, 'cause who doesn't love spending a day in nature?

It's great that you have something for everyone.

Like, maybe you're into the art or maybe you're into photography.

So many things.

That's great.

So what would a young person actually experience when they come to the academy?

It's a little bit of everything.

It's a great opportunity to find out if it's what you wanna do for the rest of your life, if you wanna make a career out of being a wildlife biologist, a conservation officer, a researcher who might be studying polar bears or bumblebee genetics, but also how to live a conservation-informed lifestyle, how to incorporate this into what you do every day.

What difference do you notice it makes by getting a young person involved in conservation early, like high school?

It's crazy because we change their lives in five days.

I know that sounds like a lot to say, um, but really to watch them grow in confidence and to watch them come out of their shells, it's just really neat that we get to do it through conservation, and we see that it has a lifelong effect.

Uh, our oldest alumni are 35, 36, 37, and to see what they're still doing in their careers as far as being engaged in conservation organizations or getting their own little ones out into the environment, um, and appreciating that at the family level, it's just phenomenal.

Absolutely.

Thank you so much for having me.

So for those who haven't heard about it yet, what is the Wildlife Leadership Academy?

The Wildlife Leadership Academy is a youth conservation educational organization based in Lock Haven, but we're statewide in reach, with a mission to engage and empower high sc- high school-aged youth all across the state to become conservation leaders in their home communities.

What was the idea behind creating it 20 years ago that you know of?

There was a program, or there still is a program, in Texas called the Texas Brigades that teaches students about conservation and empowers them to be leaders.

And so, uh, a group of conservationists in Pennsylvania traveled down to see the program and said, "Yes, we have to have this in a state that has so much rich, uh, conservation, hunting, fishing, uh, and outdoor heritage."

Absolutely.

And when you think about developing and empowering young conservation leaders, what does that actually mean? Like, are they outdoor lovers?

So these are usually kids who have some sort of passion for the outdoors, and that could be that they grew up hunting and fishing, or they've enjoyed watching birds, walking through parks in inner city Pittsburgh or Philadelphia.

And so we bring them all together.

Right now, we do that in Central Pennsylvania, and it's such a cool melting pot of students who love the outdoors, have a passion for making a difference in their home communities, and we really take that and elevate that.

It's all things conservation through the lens of bear, deer, uh, turkeys, birds, uh, bass, and brook trout, and then we also teach them about nature journaling and nature photography.

They're learning to just appreciate it on a deeper level, 'cause who doesn't love spending a day in nature?

It's great that you have something for everyone.

Like, maybe you're into the art or maybe you're into photography.

So many things.

That's great.

So what would a young person actually experience when they come to the academy?

It's a little bit of everything.

It's a great opportunity to find out if it's what you wanna do for the rest of your life, if you wanna make a career out of being a wildlife biologist, a conservation officer, a researcher who might be studying polar bears or bumblebee genetics, but also how to live a conservation-informed lifestyle, how to incorporate this into what you do every day.

What difference do you notice it makes by getting a young person involved in conservation early, like high school?

It's crazy because we change their lives in five days.

I know that sounds like a lot to say, um, but really to watch them grow in confidence and to watch them come out of their shells, it's just really neat that we get to do it through conservation, and we see that it has a lifelong effect.

Uh, our oldest alumni are 35, 36, 37, and to see what they're still doing in their careers as far as being engaged in conservation organizations or getting their own little ones out into the environment, um, and appreciating that at the family level, it's just phenomenal.