"Foreigners in Our Own Land"
New York City High School Students Head Into the Wilderness
Twenty-three Students from Manhattan’s High School for Environmental Studies and the Brooklyn Academy of Science and the Environment Take Part in The Nature Conservancy’s Summer Internship Program.
New York, NY—July 11, 2006—Thirty-one New York City high school students and mentors left Manhattan on Monday, July 10th, to participate in The Nature Conservancy’s Internship Program for City Youth, a unique program that gives urban youths the opportunity to explore the natural world. For many of the students, the program offers their first in-depth experience of natural environments. Launched in 1995, the program is a partnership with the High School for Environmental Studies in Manhattan and the Brooklyn Academy of Science and the Environment. Over the past twelve years, approximately 170 high school students have participated in the program.
A recent study funded by The Nature Conservancy, and published in the Journal of Environmental Management, sites evidence of a growing and troublesome disconnect between today’s youth and the natural world, largely due to increased usage of electronic media. The research points to the critical need for children to directly interact with nature to address the modern shift away from its appreciation. The study also suggests that children who experience nature with a mentor are more likely to develop an appreciation of nature as adults.
Megan Hartigan, a 17 year old intern from the Bronx, confirms this modern phenomenon and is eager to begin her time in the Pocono Mountains. “None of us know the world outside of New York City, which is so obsessed with technology. We are foreigners in our own land.” Similarly, Jasmine Wright, slated to spend her internship in a native plant nursery in Martha’s Vineyard, hopes this experience will help her understand the connections between humans and the natural world. “In New York City, all we have is our own perspectives, and we take too much for granted. I want to learn how to appreciate other perspectives, like how bees live in nature, and to take time out to really notice what’s around me.”
The program sends students in groups of three with trained mentors on a four-week field season, where they live and work on Conservancy preserves in five states throughout the Northeast (New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.) Conservancy staff teaches the students basic land management, educational outreach and scientific research skills in a safe and supervised environment. The interns also enjoy other first time activities such as camping, kayaking, and swimming.
The students learn about career opportunities in conservation, complete four 40-hour paid work weeks, and visit three colleges. They also develop critical life and workplace skills while living independently, away from their friends and families.
Brigitte Griswold, the Internship Program’s Manager, states “Many of these students rarely get the opportunity to spend extended time in nature and explore colleges outside of the City. Through this Internship Program, the Conservancy hopes to encourage a new generation of conservationists by providing these young people with their first direct and meaningful experience in the natural world.”
For more information on the Internship Program for City Youth, please contact Brigitte Griswold at (212)381-2186 or email bgriswold@tnc.org.
To learn more about the Nature Conservancy programs here in New York City as well as around the state, call the Nature Conservancy at (212) 997-1880, or visit www.nature.org.
|
