Imagine a planet where no one cared about the environment – a place with lax environmental regulations, rampant development and a careless use of resources. We may be headed in that direction: Children are spending about half as much time outdoors today than they did just 20 years ago. And as the amount of time spent in nature decreases, so do the connections that inspire people to protect it.
That’s why The Nature Conservancy teaches kids about the magic of nature through educational programs all around the world. From spending their first summer away from the hustle and bustle of Manhattan to getting to work alongside real scientists for the first time, we’re getting young adults outside and into nature with new knowledge and technical skills.
Read the stories of former participants of several of the Conservancy’s educational programs and initiatives. How did their experience inspire them? What are they doing with what they learned? And…where are they now?
Once a student in the Bristol Bay Fly Fishing and Guide Academy in Alaska, Reuben is back as an instructor.
This Amazon Indigenous Training Center graduate is making changes in his home of Araçá, Brazil.
This one-time Kirtland’s Warbler Research and Training Program participant is now the conservation coordinator for Conservancy's Bahamas program.
As a teen, the LEAF program in New York changed her life, and now she wants to do the same for others.
Through the LEAF program in New York, Victor pushed his limits. Now he wants more.
This teen in Colombia found that bird-watching had been what he was looking for.
A conservationist grows in Kimbe Bay.
An internship in Indonesia helped this student see the beauty of his country.