LWF’s Edgar Veillon Conservation Leadership Corps (CLC) held its first meeting last weekend. Established in 2018, the CLC program engages undergraduate college students from across the state to develop and encourage their leadership in conservation.
Training is provided by current and former natural resource professionals in the public, non-profit and private sectors. Students will be presented with real-world issues and experience. This year’s conservation focus is Trash Pollution in Louisiana Waterways. Through the integration of presentations, case studies, and collaborative activities, students will increase their knowledge of conservation policy and build skills in leadership and advocacy.
The Spring 2021 cohort includes:
Gabriel Bourgeois, Guadalupe Estrada Cordero, Kaylee Cormier, Devin Durgin, Aaron Enlund, Trey Gray, Samuel Hinerfeld, Kari Hoover, Lauren Johnson, Rebekah Lepretre, Lindsey Oxford, Carlie Rojas, Ria Salway, Abby Slattery, Aundrea Smith, Savanah Stokley, Aaron Taliaferro, Marisa Terry, Tatianna Townsend, Sarah Vaz, and Jessica Wright.
On Friday, January 29, students met for the first time for an informal evening meet and greet where students, staff, and LWF Conservation Education Committee members were able to introduce themselves. Students learned more about the CLC program and got an overview of the organization.
On Saturday, January 30, students received presentations from:
Dr. Brady Skaggs, Water Quality Program Director, Pontchartrain Conservancy
Jön Soul, Founder, Bayou to Bay
Nathaniel Klumb, Founder, Paddle BR
Andrew Barron, Sr. Water Resources Coordinator & Quality Assurance Manager, Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program (BTNEP)
Dr. Brady Skaggs, from Pontchartrain Conservancy, and Andrew Barron, from Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program, provided students with examples of water issues from two different watersheds in Louisiana. Jön Soul and Nathaniel Klumb discussed the work being done in two different parts of the state to address citizen engagement with waterway clean ups. Students also had in-depth discussions of challenges in the recycling industry (based on NPR’s “Waste Land” story).
LWF thanks its Conservation Education Committee members for their assistance with the program as well as all speakers for volunteering their time to present to our students. Finally, we want to extend our appreciation for the Stuller Family Foundation who has generously provided funding, without which this program would not be possible.
If you would like to help fund our next cohort of students, donations are appreciated and welcomed anytime at lawildlifefed.org/donate.
As humans we have plundered this state for decades it’s time to be good stewarts of the land GOD gave us to enjoy and protect