The climate crisis, endangered species, loss of habitat, air pollution, water pollution, plastic pollution, flooding, extreme heat and cold – all around the world every day, the environment is making news and forcing us to change how we live, think, and plan for the future. Conservation Nation, a relatively new non-profit based in Washington, DC, sees the need for inclusiveness in the fight for sustainability and is pushing ahead as the first national conservation organization to have as its mission building an inclusive community of conservationists.
Conservation Nation launched in the fall of 2021 after it dissolved as Friends of the National Zoo (FONZ), which supported the work of the Smithsonian National Zoological Park since 1958. As a new entity, Conservation Nation has focused on lifting barriers to access in the field of conservation through equitable funding and education to create a larger, more diverse, and more inclusive community of wildlife champions. They have built relationships with hundreds of teachers locally and nationally to expose thousands of young people to nature exploration and careers in conservation.
DC Nature Guide 2023 Web
In a meaningful first for the organization, Conservation Nation published a book of poetry and prose by Anacostia High School students, Through My Anacostia Eyes: Environmental Problems and Possibilities, in partnership with Literacy & The Environment Consultant Caroline Brewer. Anacostia youth went on dozens of field trips to nature spaces, such as Bladensburg Waterfront Park, and environmental agencies such as DC Water and the EPA, and wrote in response to what they observed as Black youth living in neighborhoods where violence, poverty, and environmental degradation threaten their quality of life. The student authors were featured in local media and at a national environmental conference via the video, “Together We Thrive,” created by the North American Association for Environmental Education.
Conservation Nation also has created an after-school conservation club with middle school students at the Washington School for Girls in SE DC as part of its new Teen Leaders in Conservation Program. The girls have studied air quality and water quality, led trash pick-ups and stream clean-ups, created a compost station, interviewed conservationists, written poetry about the environment, and explored careers among many other environmentally engaging activities.
And now, Conservation Nation is offering FREE LESSONS FOR TEACHERS and a FREE EDUCATOR’S GUIDE to support teachers in facilitating outdoor exploration for students in the DC Metro area, including funding to cover transportation costs!
“We believe each of these efforts, and many more we have planned, are key to seeding and sowing the future of environmental sustainability by inspiring diverse dream teams of conservationists and youth who are even more savvy about the environment, its problems, and possibilities,” said CEO Lynn Mento.
Photos and videos from Conservation Nation’s activities with teachers and students in the DMV and around the globe can be found on the website, www.conservationnation.org
This recently published Conservation Nation Impact Report summarizes the many accomplishments of the organization from its founding in 2021 through the end of 2023.
