WILD

Scholarship for Environmental Leaders—Growing Natural Leaders

WILD and its sister organizations in Africa and the UK are primarily known as wilderness-focused conservation organizations, but we have a unique aspect when compared to our conservation peers.  Our work integrates the  mutually important bond between humans and wild nature—we are two sides of the same earthly coin. From start till finish, we will continue to have a program focus on the power of wild nature to inspire, challenge and change people as a whole. Our sister organization in the United Kingdom, The Wilderness Foundation (UK), is deeply involved in continuing this tradition of our Wilderness Network. Each year, the ... Read More

“I Imagined” – Poem from Recent Umzi Wethu Graduate

Below is a poem by recent Umzi Wethu graduate Geovalda Cupido, who was part of the Umzi 8 Conservation Academy.  Umzi Wethu, a program run by the Wilderness Foundation (Africa) is a cutting edge program for AIDS orphans and disadvantaged youth that uses the power of the wilderness, promotes personal wellness in a nurturing home context, provides credible training, and secures sustainable job placements in hospitality and eco-tourism establishments - while extending the program's social outreach to others. Last week, Umzi graduated it's eight class -- which Geovalda was a part of.  Here are her words... Read More

Video from Cycling Silk

Check out what the dynamic duo - the Cycling Silk team - is up to these days as they continue their journey along the Silk Road to raise awareness for and promote transboundary conservation efforts. Cycling Silk 2011 Trailer from Kate Harris on Vimeo. Read More

Wilderness & America’s Great Outdoors

Last week (16 February), US President Obama spoke about the America's Great Outdoors initiative to a small group in person (100 people, invite only) and the nation at large via live web stream. Our colleague Gary Tabor, Director of the Center for Large Landscape Conservation, was one of the selected invitees! Essentially the launch of President Obama's new national conservation agenda, the President's remarks reviewed the process and input gathered through the Great Outdoors initiative -- a series of community meetings and information sessions lead by the Secretaries of the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture, the Administrator of the ... Read More

Cycling Silk: The Borderland Between Freeze and Thaw in Turkey

We just received our first update from the Cycling Silk team - Kate Harris and Melissa Yule - who set out on a year-long field research expedition exploring transboundary conservation in the mountains along the Silk Road. Traveling by bike, they will get an up-close and personal view of the conservation efforts, challenges and successes of the region. Here are a few excerpts from their journey so far..... Read More

Cycling Silk Journey Begins

Cycling Silk launched last Friday, a year-long, two-woman field research expedition that aims to explore and promote wilderness conservation and connectivity across borders. Kate Harris and Melissa Yule, both young wilderness conservationists, are riding nearly 13,000 kilometers through the shattered mountains and vast deserts that span the Silk Road between Istanbul and northern India. Read More

Protecting the Biological and Cultural Diversity of Borneo :: Summer Field School 2011

Opportunity for young leaders in conservation! I recently received some information on a summer field school experience in Indonesia for young leaders. This is a great opportunity for students to work alongside research scientists, local community members and university peers on a study of the biodiversity of the Wehea Forest and an ethnoecological study of the Wehea Dayak village. Read More

Bright Young Star in India

When in India you meet with effective young professionals making a real difference in nature conservation, most of them have a one thing in common…they were inspired by Bittu Sahgal (see my last post) and usually worked and were trained for awhile with Bittu’s Sanctuary Asia. Just one example is Prerna Bindra, a very remarkable woman. A professional journalist, author, policy expert, and advocate for wild nature, she has packed a tremendous amount in the last 10 years. Read More

Youth and Young Leader Digest | Connecting Emerging Leaders in Conservation

It is approaching the one year anniversary of WILD9 - I can hardly believe it! WILD is moving full-steam ahead on the Nature Needs Half™ vision, and many of the other programs launched at WILD9. Over the past year, we've test-driven a few ideas to continue the 'young-leader' network that started at WILD9 (Facebook, Yahoo Groups, LinkedIn, etc). We heard from the emerging leaders in Merida, that they wanted a network that: provides information about jobs and events; connects them with peers and senior leaders; shares information; is a resource for professional development opportunities. Read More

Youth Leadership Event with Simon Jackson in Boulder, CO

September is going to be a busy month for us here at WILD! We're very excited to welcome Simon Jackson, founder of the largest youth-led organization in the world, to Boulder to meet with local young leaders. Jackson will facilitate several training workshops (September 18-20) with local young leaders on community engagement, leadership and the environment. The trainings, organized by The WILD Foundation and local partners, will include opportunities for emerging leaders to learn from Simon's experience as the founder of the Spirit Bear Youth Coalition and his work with a variety of other initiatives, and participate ... Read More