This week’s blog was written by Shanti K., Nadia P., Allison R., and Grace Z. – apprentices at the PA Gobblers field school. As a group, they share their experience in the Apprentice Program at PA Gobblers.
This week at the Gobbler’s camp, four brave souls were inducted into the Wildlife Leadership Academy’s newly revamped Apprentice Program. Throughout the week, these wonderful individuals were able to gain a fresh understanding of what it takes to run field school, while still being involved in activities with the students. We the apprentices also enjoyed exclusive opportunities from instructors which ranged from laying bear bait to exploring the natural wonders of Pennsylvania. We implemented the leadership skills gained from our previous WLA years and took the reigns during Turkey Trivia and station activities. It is an honor to have been a part of the WLA Apprentice program this week, and each and every one of us appreciates the opportunity to lend a hand at the camp we all know and love.
At the new Apprentice Program we began learning more about the behind the scenes of running the camp. There are many important aspects that go into properly running the Wildlife Leadership Academy. This program helped us to understand all of the hard work that goes into creating a friendly and accepting environment. We worked on things such as setting up lectures and preparing quizzes. The apprentices were responsible for a lot of the preparation that happens before the lectures. We would introduce ourselves to the instructors and help them to get everything prepared for their presentations. The apprentices were also there to help keep the instructors on time by timing their presentations and helping however they needed. We spent much of our time engaging with the students and learning about each individual so that we could ensure they are having a great experience at WLA. The program showed us the behind-the-scenes action that is necessary to running an amazing camp, as well as allowing us to share unique experiences with each other as a team.
Shanti helping a student sex and age a turkey fan.
During our time we got to go on exclusive field trips. We had two trained biologists, Tony and Ethan, take us out to place bear bait. We were preparing for the Ursids camp, where the other apprentices would help trap a bear the following week. Along with the excitement of spreading sweets across the woods, they also taught us about bears and future careers. Another expedition we embarked on was to Penn’s cave. We got to learn about Pennsylvania’s history, the cave’s geology and formation, and the plants and animals that resided there. Though helping in the classroom was great – going out in the field provided an amazing experience!
Learning about black bear management from the PA Game Commission.
Boat tour at Penn’s Cave!
Back inside the classroom, the four of us also participated in student activities such as lectures, demonstrations, and team building activities. During lectures—in addition to timing and writing trivia questions—we joined the students in taking notes and asking questions about turkeys and their environment. Demonstrations included working with the Pennsylvania Game Commission to do a radio telemetry scavenger hunt, in which the apprentices had the additional chance to put our teamwork skills to the test as the groups split up to search for a hidden radio transmitter. We also participated in the team-building challenges with the students! Since much of our time was spent with each other, we learned a lot about everyone’s interests. The apprentice program helped the four of us work together and become much closer as a team. We are now planning on staying in touch and completing outreach together outside of camp.
Throughout the week we learned how to better use the skills we’ve learned in our previous WLA experience to give students the best experience possible. Not only did we learn new skills and gain a deeper understanding of what it takes to run a successful field school, but also new tips and tricks to help with our future careers.
The photos used in this blog belong to the Academy.
2024 Apprentice Program – PA Gobblers
Posted: August 10, 2024 by Katie Mace
This week’s blog was written by Shanti K., Nadia P., Allison R., and Grace Z. – apprentices at the PA Gobblers field school. As a group, they share their experience in the Apprentice Program at PA Gobblers.
This week at the Gobbler’s camp, four brave souls were inducted into the Wildlife Leadership Academy’s newly revamped Apprentice Program. Throughout the week, these wonderful individuals were able to gain a fresh understanding of what it takes to run field school, while still being involved in activities with the students. We the apprentices also enjoyed exclusive opportunities from instructors which ranged from laying bear bait to exploring the natural wonders of Pennsylvania. We implemented the leadership skills gained from our previous WLA years and took the reigns during Turkey Trivia and station activities. It is an honor to have been a part of the WLA Apprentice program this week, and each and every one of us appreciates the opportunity to lend a hand at the camp we all know and love.
At the new Apprentice Program we began learning more about the behind the scenes of running the camp. There are many important aspects that go into properly running the Wildlife Leadership Academy. This program helped us to understand all of the hard work that goes into creating a friendly and accepting environment. We worked on things such as setting up lectures and preparing quizzes. The apprentices were responsible for a lot of the preparation that happens before the lectures. We would introduce ourselves to the instructors and help them to get everything prepared for their presentations. The apprentices were also there to help keep the instructors on time by timing their presentations and helping however they needed. We spent much of our time engaging with the students and learning about each individual so that we could ensure they are having a great experience at WLA. The program showed us the behind-the-scenes action that is necessary to running an amazing camp, as well as allowing us to share unique experiences with each other as a team.
During our time we got to go on exclusive field trips. We had two trained biologists, Tony and Ethan, take us out to place bear bait. We were preparing for the Ursids camp, where the other apprentices would help trap a bear the following week. Along with the excitement of spreading sweets across the woods, they also taught us about bears and future careers. Another expedition we embarked on was to Penn’s cave. We got to learn about Pennsylvania’s history, the cave’s geology and formation, and the plants and animals that resided there. Though helping in the classroom was great – going out in the field provided an amazing experience!
Back inside the classroom, the four of us also participated in student activities such as lectures, demonstrations, and team building activities. During lectures—in addition to timing and writing trivia questions—we joined the students in taking notes and asking questions about turkeys and their environment. Demonstrations included working with the Pennsylvania Game Commission to do a radio telemetry scavenger hunt, in which the apprentices had the additional chance to put our teamwork skills to the test as the groups split up to search for a hidden radio transmitter. We also participated in the team-building challenges with the students! Since much of our time was spent with each other, we learned a lot about everyone’s interests. The apprentice program helped the four of us work together and become much closer as a team. We are now planning on staying in touch and completing outreach together outside of camp.
Throughout the week we learned how to better use the skills we’ve learned in our previous WLA experience to give students the best experience possible. Not only did we learn new skills and gain a deeper understanding of what it takes to run a successful field school, but also new tips and tricks to help with our future careers.
The photos used in this blog belong to the Academy.
Category: Youth Blog Tags: apprentice program, featured, PA Gobblers