The 12 youth participants in the 2009 Great Greenwing Adventure:

Back row (l-r): Brad Elliott, Greg Willis, Aaron Boehmer, Dustin Jeffress, Adrien Powis-Clement, Dillon Cox

Front row (l-r): Cassandra-Lynn Grant, Brendan Kelly, Zachary Clemons, Laura Ronald, Marc-Antoine Ferland, Hunter Grant
 

Canada’s future conservationists take on Oak Hammock Marsh

Local teens learn how to be green in their future careers Bookmark and Share

Oak Hammock Marsh, Man., August 11, 2009  - Ducks Unlimited Canada’s (DUC) 15th annual Great Greenwing Adventure August 8-14, 2009 is bringing 12 conservation-minded teens together to gain an insider’s look at the world of conservation, while enjoying a fully-sponsored trip to learn about some of Manitoba’s world-class wetlands.

Selected from a wide range of enthusiastic teen applicants who applied for the DUC-sponsored eco-adventure of a lifetime, this elite group of future conservationists will visit Oak Hammock Marsh and Delta Marsh this week, studying wetlands and waterfowl alongside some of the country’s top wetland biologists. Plus, the hands-on activities offer a fun way to learn new skills while nurturing an appreciation for conservation. And although there’s plenty of fun planned, the experience will help give these youth skills and knowledge that will provide a great advantage for them in future studies and work endeavors.

Past Great Greenwing Adventure participants have gone on to careers in science, conservation and resource management. Brandon Hicks, a 2007 participant who has gone on to study the environment in post-secondary school, and this summer worked on one of DUC’s field research teams in Saskatchewan, said that the experience will have a huge impact on everyone, no matter what path they follow in life:

“One of the huge problems today, with younger society, is that we don’t have a connection with the natural world. But once you see the wonders of nature and what it has to offer, you can’t detach yourself from it. The Great Greenwing Adventure was an amazing week; one of the really huge things that’s happened in my life…it definitely opened doors for me.”

Nathalie Bays, education coordinator for Oak Hammock Marsh and an organizer of the Great Greenwing Adventure couldn’t agree more. “The beauty of this camp is that we’re out there creating relationships with nature,” she said. “Our goal is to raise awareness about wetland and upland conservation, but getting hands-on is the way to do it. Then, the desire to conserve just falls into place.”

Throughout the action-packed week, the group will meet new friends, learn wilderness skills and wetland ecology and participate in exciting activities like duck and songbird banding, radio telemetry, invertebrate sampling, geocaching, decoy carving, wilderness survival, camping, canoeing, monster cat fishing and much more.

The Great Greenwing Adventure runs until August 14, based at Oak Hammock Marsh in Manitoba.

For more information, contact:

Leigh Patterson, l_patterson@ducks.ca
Corporate Media Relations Specialist
Ducks Unlimited Canada
Tel: (204) 467-3306

 
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