Students get a close look at conservation

CLINTON COUNTY, PA – Local students recently got an up-close look at our natural resources during a joint Summer in the Parks conservation week program. The week-long event took place at local parks in Castanea, South Renovo, Mill Hall, Lock Haven and North Bend. The initiative is the result of a partnership between the Clinton County Conservation District and the Keystone Central School District. Students ages 5 to 12 learned about the environment through hands-on activities such as dissecting owl pellets and through presentations by local biologists, conservation officers, foresters, and natural resource professionals.

This year’s events were attended by more than 400 students and included an up-close look at live lizards, snakes and other critters courtesy of Clyde Peeling’s Reptiland as well as an amazing program featuring live butterflies delivered by renown butterfly expert Rick Mikula who has appeared on Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel.

“The single greatest long-term investment you can make when it comes to furthering conservation is an investment in public education, especially youth education, said Wade Jodun, Conservation District Manager. “If you talk to almost any working conservationist, wildlife biologist, fisheries biologist or naturalist, they’ll all tell you their career choice was influenced by some sort of educational program. For me those were the Smokey Bear presentations in elementary school as well as the TV programs like The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau and Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom – although that is really aging myself.”

Toby Boyer, Conservation District Watershed Specialist and Education Coordinator, noted that the new program began three years ago during COVID when social distancing required any sort of education event to be delivered outdoors. “We were looking for a way to continue our environmental education programs and do so in a safe and responsible manner during COVID”, said Boyer. “The event has grown every year from about 100 students in 2021 to more than 400 this year.” Boyer also echoed Jodun’s sentiments saying, “Who knows, maybe this event plants a seed in some of the kids who participated and that seed grows into a lifetime conservation ethic. Perhaps this inspires one of the kids who attended these events to pursue a career in conservation.”