On Sunday, July 20th, the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment will hold their third annual Natural Resources Conservation Academy (NRC Academy; http://www.nrca.uconn.edu/). The NRC Academy is a new transformative program that engages high school students from urban, rural, public, and private schools. Students will be introduced to the field of environmental science in a lasting way that is exciting and meaningful for the student, complementary to their existing science curriculum, and beneficial to the conservation of our environment. The NRC Academy consists of two intricately linked parts. Students will first spend a week at UConn during a summer field experience, which will be followed by a seven-month service-learning project within the student’s local community.
The program is focused around topics in environmental science and conservation. Courses will focus on the application of knowledge to real-world problems, and are instructed by professors from UConn’s Department of Natural Resources and the Environment along with professionals from state and federal agencies. Topics include water, forestry, soils, fisheries and wildlife, landscape ecology and habitat protection, and the use of web tools and geospatial technology all within the context of land use change. After the summer field experience, students will engage in individualized service-learning projects at the local level.
The primary goal of the program is to have students serve as informed advocates for natural resource protection in their communities, paying particular attention to land use policies and zoning issues.
The NRC Academy is sponsored by a generous donation from an anonymous private donor, the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources and the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment.
For more information, contact: Dr. Laura Cisneros/NRCA Program Coordinator at 860-486-4917/laura.cisneros@uconn.edu