Where Are They Now?

Educational Programs Inspire Youth Worldwide

Imagine a planet where no one cared about the environment – a place with lax environmental regulations, rampant development and a careless use of resources. We may be headed in that direction: Children are spending about half as much time outdoors today than they did just 20 years ago. And as the amount of time spent in nature decreases, so do the connections that inspire people to protect it.

That’s why The Nature Conservancy teaches kids about the magic of nature through educational programs all around the world. From spending their first summer away from the hustle and bustle of Manhattan to getting to work alongside real scientists for the first time, we’re getting young adults outside and into nature with new knowledge and technical skills.

Read the stories of former participants of several of the Conservancy’s educational programs and initiatives. How did their experience inspire them? What are they doing with what they learned? And…where are they now?

Reuben_Paul 215x143Reuben Hastings @ Clark Mishler
Reuben Hastings

Once a student in the Bristol Bay Fly Fishing and Guide Academy in Alaska, Reuben is back as an instructor.

Enock ExploreEnock Taurepang at CAFI © Lula Sampaio
Enock Taurepang

This Amazon Indigenous Training Center graduate is making changes in his home of Araçá, Brazil.

Leno Davis pull imageThe Conservancy's Ancilleno "Leno" Davis holds a Lionfish caught near New Providence as part of the National Lionfish Response Planning Workshop which was held November 6th and 7th 2008. The Lionfish is an invasive fish that originated from the indo-pacific and has invaded Tropical waters of the western Atlantic. it eats many species of fish, small octopuses, and shellfish. © Leno Davis/TNC
Leno Davis

This one-time Kirtland’s Warbler Research and Training Program participant is now the conservation coordinator for Conservancy's Bahamas program.

Gladys Ruiz pull imageGladys Ruiz. © Courtesy Gladys Ruiz
Gladys Ruiz

As a teen, the LEAF program in New York changed her life, and now she wants to do the same for others.

Victor Medina pull imageVictor Medina, 17, from Washington Heights, readies his net during an inventory of dragonfly and damselfly populations at the Willow Grove Lake Preserve in New Jersey Photographed on assignment for the Spring 2009, Nature Conservancy magazine story about a program to involved urban youth in nature studies on Conservancy preserves. © Amy Deputy
Victor Medina

Through the LEAF program in New York, Victor pushed his limits. Now he wants more.

julian pull imageJulian Barros. © Courtesy of Cenicafe
Julián Barros

This teen in Colombia found that bird-watching had been what he was looking for.

Annisah smallAnnisah Sapul, a community conservation specialist with the Conservancy's Kimbe Bay project in Papua New Guinea. © TNC
Annisah Sapul

A conservationist grows in Kimbe Bay.

Satria pull imageSatria, Indonesian intern (Elis Nurhayatri on left, Satria on right). © Courtesy of Satria
Satria Sambijantoro

An internship in Indonesia helped this student see the beauty of his country.

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Arden OConnor 215x143Arden O’Connor. © Lajla LeBlanc

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