Smart Talk: Teaching conservation for the future; Cities Grapple
photo by Scott LaMar/WITF
What to look for on Smart Talk Monday, September 19, 2016:
Have you ever walked through the woods and saw deer or sat along a stream fishing and wondered whether future generations will get to enjoy the beauty and serenity that you were admiring? There was a time not that long ago when water and forests weren’t so clean and healthy. There still are places that have been scarred, but people who care about the environment have made a great difference in the last 40 years.
Tomorrow’s conservationists are being trained in the outdoors today with an eye toward the future at Wildlife Leadership Academies in Pennsylvania.
Monday’s Smart Talk features a discussion of how high school-age teenagers are learning about wildlife, fisheries and conservation.
Appearing on the program are Michele Kittell, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Institute for Conservation Education and wildlife biologist and photographer Gary Alt.
Michele Kittell, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Institute for Conservation Education
Anne Harris emailed:
My daughter attended the Brook Trout Academy years ago, and volunteered with them in following years. She is now a 2nd year wildlife biology environmental sciences student at McGill. Were she available to speak, she would say that PICE/ WLA and the PA Envirothon both were extremely important to her development. Hats of to Michelle and her very hard work to fund raise, run the camps and follow up with her students over the years. She works with future leaders, because she too is a leader.
Jim emailed:
This is a wonderful program. You should consider involving some of the hiking and trails organizations in your program, such as Keystone Trails Association, Appalachian Trail Museum, and the Appalachian Trail maintaining clubs. One of the issues we struggle with is how to get teens and twenty somethings interested in helping with our work.
Those of you who listen to WITF on a regular basis have heard stories from Keystone Crossroads — a public media initiative covering both challenges and solutions for distressed cities. Keystone Crossroads is a collaborative reporting project of partner public media stations: WHYY, WITF, WESA and WPSU. Now there’s a new way to learn more about Pennsylvania cities. It’s called Keystone Crossroads Grapple – a podcast that gives voice to people living and working in distressed communities.
On Monday’s program, we’ll learn more about Grapple from Naomi Starobin, Editor and Stephanie Marudas, Executive Producer of Keystone Crossroads.
