For much of today’s youth, the “pipeline” to educational and economic success in the conservation movement is nonexistent. Using their TogetherGreen Grant, Audubon New York will address this issue by introducing students from low-income African-American and Hispanic populations to nature and conservation-related careers.
Along with The Nature Conservancy of New York and the Prospect Park Alliance, Audubon New York will add to environmental education in the classroom with increasingly empowering summer opportunities that add conservation experiences to the resumes of Brooklyn Academy of Science and the Environment high school students.
Through a residential Audubon camp and paid internships at Audubon and The Nature Conservancy preserves, students will have fun, nature-based experiences that also teach them critical life and workplace skills. These internships will also have real conservation value, as the students restore native plants and shellfish, eradicate invasive plant species, and monitor wildlife in ecologically-important habitats.
This project will progressively immerse students in ongoing environmental experiences and opportunities for those who do not have the access, support system, or connections to these places - and foster a more environmentally literate and concerned citizenry.