This fun, immersive week-long program allows students to explore native plants through experiential, hands-on, and engaging lessons in the Cibola National Forest. Students will connect with and learn from environmental professionals. Students learn how to use botanical terms to describe and identify plants, explore seed collection and plant monitoring methods, cook with plants and make herbal recipes, and much more! Guest speakers from different environmental fields join some days throughout the sessions. They provide expert knowledge and a glimpse of careers in conservation as well as opportunities to get involved in conservation work. At the end of the course, students receive a certificate of completion in Basic Native Plant Ecology, which can be used as a resume builder and demonstration of skills applicable towards conservation internships at the Institute for Applied Ecology or other organizations. Students will also learn important transferable skills like communication, teamwork, and self-reliance among others that will be useful regardless of what career path they choose to embark on. This program is hosted by the Institute for Applied Ecology and funded by the US Forest service. Lunch and transportation to the forest provided free of cost.
The mission of the Institute for Applied Ecology is to conserve native species and habitats through restoration, research and education.
1850 Old Pecos Trail, Suite i