PA Institute For Conservation Education Changes Name To Wildlife Leadership Academy

The PA Institute for Conservation Education in Lewisburg, Union County has changed the organization’s name to Wildlife Leadership Academy.  For the last four years, the primary focus of the Institute has been on its youth program – the Wildlife Leadership Academy.

The new name better reflects this change in focus.

The mission of the Wildlife Leadership Academy is to engage and empower high school age youth to become Conservation Ambassadors to ensure a sustained wildlife, fisheries and natural resource legacy for future generations.

A year round program, the Academy begins with rigorous summer field schools that focus on wildlife/fisheries biology and conservation as well as leadership skills development continuing with community outreach.

Over the past 10 years, the program has grown from one field school to offering six in 2017 focusing on white-tailed deer, bass, brook trout, ruffed grouse, turkey, and black bear.  

Since inception, 371 youth from 62 Pennsylvania counties have participated in the Academy field schools. These students have gone on to reach over 32,000 citizens with their community outreach through education, service work, creative arts, and media engagement.

“We are excited to officially make the Wildlife Leadership Academy name change to reflect our primary focus so that we can put every effort into supporting young conservation leaders as they grow from high school to college to career,” said Michele Kittell, Executive Director.

The Wildlife Leadership Academy has opened its exclusive Youth Conservation Ambassador nomination process for 2017 to the public and is currently seeking referrals of motivated students ages 14 to 17 to become Certified Conservation Ambassadors.

Nominations are now being accepted online.  

Applicants may be nominated by an adult who knows them well but is not a relative (teacher, school counselor, Envirothon advisor, employer, youth group leader, etc.).

For more information, visit Wildlife Leadership Academy. Please contact Michele Kittell, Executive Director, at 570-245-8518 or send email to: mkittell@wildlifeleadershipacademy.org  with any questions.