This week’s blog was written by Liam, a Gobblers alum. Liam has an interest in wildlife, and notably ornithology. He plans to attend college and, afterwards, pursue a career with the Game Commission.
I have been involved with conservation and the outdoors for much of my childhood. I have enjoyed exploring nature since I was in kindergarten, as I would often go on birding trips with my grandfather, as well as campouts with my Cub Scout pack. During the summertime, I went to many nature camps and learned about conservation efforts on land and water. Later, in middle and high school, as I became more involved with scouting, we went on various camping trips where my accumulated knowledge about the outdoors helped me tremendously. Last summer and fall, I worked on my Eagle Scout project, which involved planting native shrubs and trees in an area that had been progressively eroded by rain, as a way to solve this problem as well as provide both a food source and a habitat for the bird population in the area. However, my small-scale conservation experience before attending the Wildlife Leadership Academy (WLA) field schools is dwarfed by my experience during and afterward.
My first field school, the Gobblers camp, taught me so much. I learned many ways in which turkeys are affected by their habitat, what conditions they need for the various stages of their life, and how humanity affected and continues to affect them as a whole. I also learned about the smaller subsections of wild turkey habitat, from the necessary abiotic factors of land formation and climate patterns to the important biotic factors of flora and fauna.
My second field school experience was at Bass, and the experience taught me many things about bass and how to conserve their habitats, as well as about leadership and how to guide a group to reach a conservation goal. As a Youth Mentor, I was tasked with helping keep my group on track and on time. This experience was brought to its fullest during our evening review games, where we excelled, as everyone had to know their information as a team to succeed.
These field schools have provided me with many new skills, both for conservation as well as leadership and public speaking. I have taken this information and applied it in various ways via the numerous outreach projects that are a key part of the post-field school program. I have given a presentation on turkey lifecycles, habitat, and calls to a group at my local library. I made a trifold aimed at a younger audience, which was displayed at the library. I have written articles about outreach and nature in general for my local paper as well as the WLA website to help people learn more about their natural surroundings and help them appreciate it more.
Overall, this camp taught me valuable information not only about conservation, but also gave me tools to inform the general public about conservation and how to involve them in assisting conservation efforts in their area.
Learning, Leading, Conserving: My WLA Experience
Posted: September 26, 2025 by Katie Mace
This week’s blog was written by Liam, a Gobblers alum. Liam has an interest in wildlife, and notably ornithology. He plans to attend college and, afterwards, pursue a career with the Game Commission.
I have been involved with conservation and the outdoors for much of my childhood. I have enjoyed exploring nature since I was in kindergarten, as I would often go on birding trips with my grandfather, as well as campouts with my Cub Scout pack. During the summertime, I went to many nature camps and learned about conservation efforts on land and water. Later, in middle and high school, as I became more involved with scouting, we went on various camping trips where my accumulated knowledge about the outdoors helped me tremendously. Last summer and fall, I worked on my Eagle Scout project, which involved planting native shrubs and trees in an area that had been progressively eroded by rain, as a way to solve this problem as well as provide both a food source and a habitat for the bird population in the area. However, my small-scale conservation experience before attending the Wildlife Leadership Academy (WLA) field schools is dwarfed by my experience during and afterward.
My first field school, the Gobblers camp, taught me so much. I learned many ways in which turkeys are affected by their habitat, what conditions they need for the various stages of their life, and how humanity affected and continues to affect them as a whole. I also learned about the smaller subsections of wild turkey habitat, from the necessary abiotic factors of land formation and climate patterns to the important biotic factors of flora and fauna.
My second field school experience was at Bass, and the experience taught me many things about bass and how to conserve their habitats, as well as about leadership and how to guide a group to reach a conservation goal. As a Youth Mentor, I was tasked with helping keep my group on track and on time. This experience was brought to its fullest during our evening review games, where we excelled, as everyone had to know their information as a team to succeed.
These field schools have provided me with many new skills, both for conservation as well as leadership and public speaking. I have taken this information and applied it in various ways via the numerous outreach projects that are a key part of the post-field school program. I have given a presentation on turkey lifecycles, habitat, and calls to a group at my local library. I made a trifold aimed at a younger audience, which was displayed at the library. I have written articles about outreach and nature in general for my local paper as well as the WLA website to help people learn more about their natural surroundings and help them appreciate it more.
Overall, this camp taught me valuable information not only about conservation, but also gave me tools to inform the general public about conservation and how to involve them in assisting conservation efforts in their area.
Category: Youth Blog Tags: featured, field school, outreach