The Ward Burton Wildlife Foundation

CONNECT

CONNECT is a progressive environmental education program that targets youth in YOUR community! It is a partnership between the Ward Burton Wildlife Foundation and Virginia Tech. The customized program is designed to "CONNECT" area youth to:

the environment
the community
careers within the environmental fields
and a healthy lifestyle

There are two major issues that the WBWF would like to address through our CONNECT program. First, today's youth are becoming more and more disassociated with the outdoors and a healthy lifestyle due to the ever-increasing attraction to video games, TV, etc. A second related issue is the "Graying of Green" where we expect a large amount of Baby Boomers in the environmental workplace to be retiring soon, and there does not appear to be enough professionals in the younger generations to fill those vacancies and to handle the growing environmental field. The WBWF would like to spark the environmental and outdoor passions of youth, provide an avenue of advancement for the youth through school, college, and other community organizations, and subsequently help fill the needs of the growing environmental profession by placing interested youth in situations where they can succeed and give back to their community.

There are three phases to the CONNECT program. First, a customized curriculum for interested school systems will be coordinated between the school, the WBWF, and Virginia Tech. School children can get specialized learning tools from renowned worldwide leaders such as National Geographic, Discovery, and Nortel. These programs can also be implemented in concert with Virginia Tech's Modeling and Simulation Center that focuses on the Environmental and Energy fields. These learning mechanisms will introduce the youth to a variety of environmental topics such as water quality, geospatial technology, nanotechnology, carbon footprints, and the latest in ecological management and sustainability. The materials also introduce youth to the environmental careers, a healthy lifestyles and environmental ethic.

The second phase provides youth with the opportunity to participate in field trips, camping events, and hands-on activities such as water quality data collection, pollution prevention campaigns and related activities that simulate careers in the environment. During these experiences, youth can also participate in recreational programs like fishing, hiking, and camping with their peers and mentors. The fellowship through fun and engaging experiences encourages students to become aware of their responsibility as stewards of their natural resources. This program will also help CONNECT youth to existing organizations such as the Boys Scouts, Girls Scouts, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, etc. in order to maximize potential learning and engagement.

The third phase of CONNECT will be the important follow-up stages to the first two phases. Interested youth will be introduced to internships and mentorships. Youth will become aware of careers and opportunities in the environmental fields, and if interested, youth will be guided in academics and college placement to help maximize their potential and chances to find environmental careers. The WBWF and Virginia Tech will also help connect interested youth to corporations, consultants, non-profits, and state and federal governmental entities to place youth in a rewarding environmental career.

For More Information, contact Tom Inge at (434) 476-7010 or tinge@vt.edu.

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