Kids These Days!

The little boy, maybe 5 years old, squatted by the side of a nearby stream. Carefully, he chose a twig and gently placed it in the flowing water.  Then he watched as it floated away and disappeared from view. “We like to get him out of the house and away from his phone and electronic games,” his mother told me. “It’s good to get out in nature!”

Caring for injured, orphaned wildlife

Not far from the city of Phoenix is Liberty Wildlife, a nonprofit organization that provides care for injured and orphaned wildlife, environmental education, and conservation services. On this day was a festival celebrating Earth Day, and we represented Arizona Game and Fish Department to promote adopting a desert tortoise.

We find it encouraging at many of these events to encounter children and teens either visiting with parents or volunteering to help the organizers. At this event, a police officer was volunteering to lead a group of young people on an outing. “We take the kids away from their phones and on different excursions,” he said, “and we do many varied experiences with them that they really enjoy.”

A troop of Explorer Scouts roamed the exhibits as they took a break from planting cactus on the property. They showed interest in the live animals and bird demonstrations, as well as chatting with presenters such as ourselves. Two of them wanted pictures taken of themselves as they reached out to touch one of our snakes.

Teen Volunteers

During the festival, teens who volunteer with Liberty Wildlife educated the public with a table displaying skulls, as others demonstrated live animals. Liberty’s teen guide program focuses on students 14-17 years old wanting to learn how to speak to the general public while educating them about native wildlife.

“Teens come in twice a month for a 4 hour shift,” says Dora Suttell, Education Outreach Coordinator for Liberty Wildlife. “The first 45 minutes is class time, then we set up and work during open hours on the weekends. The classroom time is spent learning about the natural world and how to better protect it. Subjects discussed are advocacy, climate change, plastic pollution as well as species specific conservation efforts around the world.” This year Liberty included a discussion on light pollution and its devastating effect on our migratory birds.  They also discussed the benefits of nature journaling.

Teens learn how to handle and present Liberty’s reptiles in a respectful and informative manner while keeping Liberty’s mission in mind (nurturing the nature of Arizona). In addition to presenting education in the interactive room, they also present at educational booths with hands on activities.

Future Teen Volunteer?

While we were impressed and encouraged as we encountered so many active, caring teens, we couldn’t help wondering if the little boy staring after his twig floating down the stream might some day join one of these groups to learn about nature and science and pass this knowledge on to others. These kids and their parents and educators give us hope for the future!