Student Climate and Conservation Congress (Sc3)
"See the world through the eyes of your grandchildren"
One of the truly excellent student/faculty sustainability conferences available to our schools takes place over the summer at the Fish and Wildlife Training Center in West Virginia. Tucked away in a remote Appalachian “holler” of restored forest and wetlands, the Student Climate and Conservation Congress (Sc3) is a weeklong collaboration between the Green Schools Alliance and the federal Fish and Wildlife Service.
Three of our rising seniors, Evan Doornink, Tyler Mikkelson, and Raskal Turbeville were among 100 student fellows selected from across the country to attend the Sc3 over the summer this year. Based on their participation in the Congress this year, these three boys have also been invited to return to the Sc3 next year in a position of leadership as senior student fellows.
The conference itself is inspirational: the mornings and evenings are devoted to opportunities to meet and hear from remarkable naturalists, wildlife biologists, environmental activists, artists, documentarians, storytellers, and conservation professionals who have committed their professional and personal lives to cultivating ecological literacy. The days are devoted to cohorts of students and faculty working together to develop sustainability action plans to take back to their school communities. The last day of the conference the cohorts each present their collaborative action plans to the entire conference.
As a faculty fellow at the Sc3, for two years I have had the good fortune to work closely with many of the students who attend the Congress, and I cannot say enough about what this conference has to offer. This year it was a great honor to observe Evan, Tyler, and Raskal represent Besant Hill School and receive enthusiastic appreciation from the Sc3 community for their contributions and for their unique spirit in collaboration.
We are looking forward to bringing more BHS students to the next Student Climate and Conservation Congress in 2012.