Nicodemus Wilderness Project -- Global Registry of Apprentice Ecologists

As a child, I spent my summers camping and hiking, and the rest of the year playing in my own backyard. I grew up loving and admiring the outdoors. As I grew older, this affection translated into hobbies, and into the career paths I began to consider. By my junior year of high school, I knew I wanted to enter a career in a forestry or wildlife related field. By my senior year, I had applied to Oregon State University and last fall, I began my first year as a Biology major. The environment is something I love, and something that I have worked very hard to include in as many aspects of my life as possible.

However, I have also realized something else - not everyone grew up experiencing the environment in the same manner which I have. In fact, as I have met more people, I have learned that a large portion of my generation spends more time playing video games than climbing trees, that they can name more Pokemon than birds or animals.

With the environment being not only such a significant part of my childhood and my life, but also such a hot-button topic today, I decided at the end of my Senior year in high school that I would volunteer some of my time to help introduce the subject of the environment to the younger individuals in my local Portland, Oregon community. The best way to accomplish this, I predicted, would be to meet with groups of local youth and share with them a portion of the excitement and pleasure I had known growing up.

My journey began by preparing for my discussions. Firstly, I found my audience. I had been volunteering with the Big Brothers Big Sisters program for about a year, and I knew this would be a good opportunity to reach some elementary-aged children, especially since many of the kids in the program were familiar with me and looked up to me as a role model, rather than as a random stranger come to lecture them. In addition to this group, I arranged to visit a science class at Parkrose Middle School, the local middle school in my area.

Next, I did a lot of research; I looked into ways young children could get involved with the environment around them, as well as reasons why doing so would be beneficial. Overall, I focused on small details that would contribute to the sustainability of our local community. Also, I found several ways to keep my audience involved. I made a matching game for the younger children, with the footprints of multiple types of wildlife one would find in or around the city. I brought a home-made bat house to the presentations, which many of the children (especially the boys) found much more interesting than they would have a bird house. I also purchased a hundred Douglas Fir seedlings from a local nursery and then tied tags to each seedling with planting instructions on one side and an interesting fact about the Douglas Fir on the other side.

At the presentations, I would have a relaxed conversation with the group. We discussed a lot of different ways for them to get involved, and I handed out the seedlings. The biggest take-away for me was the excitement that so many of the children showed when they got their trees. Several of them asked for a second one; one little girl wanted a tree to take home to each of her brothers and another for her parents. Overall, I gave my presentation to about 40 different members of the community, and managed to pass out about 90 of my seedlings to both the youth I met with and to many of the teachers and peers at my high school.

Taking on this project made me realize how effective I can be with my time. It gave me a sense of empowerment to know that in just a few weeks, I was able to put together an exhibition that was both informative and captivating. But, more importantly, in the matter of a few hours, I was able to open possibilities and incite an interest in subjects which many of the children I talked to had never before considered. Sharing my enthusiasm and supporting the youth of my local community and school district made me feel accomplished, and has fueled my passion to build a future doing more of the same â€“ whether it be through a career, or by simply volunteering my spare time.