Engaging Students in Hands-On Conservation Work
Thanks to generous support from United Way, Reflection Riding has partnered with Howard High School to engage their students in conservation work and establish a career pathway in conservation and native landscape management. We are excited to announce that we have recently hired two Howard students as Native Landscape Management Apprentices to get hands-on experience working outside and restoring native biodiversity. Read on for more about our partnership with Howard and our apprentice’s experience working at Reflection Riding.
Last year, Reflection Riding received a generous grant from United Way for a new program focused on providing paid apprenticeships for high school students. This grant allowed us to build a deeper partnership with Howard High School—one of the closest Hamilton County high schools in our Alton Park/Lookout Valley neighborhood—by working with them to establish a career pathway in native landscape management and restoration.
Throughout this year, Reflection Riding staff, like naturalist Ailani Ramirez-Pineda, have worked with Howard teachers, faculty, and community partners to engage students in Native Landscape Management careers by visiting Howard, working with environmental science classes to build interest in conservation work, and bringing students to our campus for hands-on learning. We have hosted 200+ Howard students at Reflection Riding since the start of the school year!
When Howard students come on a field trip to Reflection Riding, they get to conduct a pond study, go on a nature walk, tour the native animal area, and canoe Lookout Creek. Throughout the visit, they are able to observe different habitats and discuss what makes each one unique, noting the different animals, plants, and native wildlife found in each one. Many of the students have never been to Reflection Riding before, and our post-program surveying has shown that they were extremely satisfied with their visit. Feedback from Howard students and teachers shows that not only do students enjoy the experience, but they also find it easier to concentrate in the classroom after spending time outdoors and that teacher-student relationships improved.
We estimate through surveying that 10% of the students who have participated in a field trip are interested in working outdoors or becoming apprentices. During every program we have with a group of Howard students, we encourage those who are interested to apply for our Native Landscape Management Apprenticeship, a paid apprenticeship program where students can work alongside our team of naturalists and conservationists and learn about native biodiversity restoration through hands-on work. They will also be given priority to fill often-vacant, thriving-wage, permanent conservation jobs at Reflection Riding. We have recently hired our first student apprentices, who are now working onsite with us!
Meet our two Native Landscape Management Apprentices, Blandy and Jahore!
We supplied them with gear from our friends and partners at REI (pictured below) and they have been working with our Land Conservation team on Saturdays. They have recently been helping our staff remove Lonicera japonica (Japanese honeysuckle) and Ligustrum sinense (privet). The photos below show them using the weed wrenches to remove these invasive plants from the campus. They have also assisted us in our Native Plant Nursery, making tags for our plants and getting shade fabric on our hoop house and back beds as we prepare for the spring planting season. Jahore’s favorite parts of the job so far are riding the mule, removing privet, and interacting with Reflection Riding staff. Blandy has already asked about working at Reflection Riding after graduating high school. We are so excited to have them on our team!
We are so grateful to United Way of Greater Chattanooga and Howard High School for investing time and resources to help us build the next generation of passionate conservationists!
