Expanding high school youth’s perceptions of environmental careers and resilience development through conservation education

Abstract

Youth-focused environmental programs develop environmental stewardship and related interest in future career pursuits. However, research is limited on how youth perceive the varied skills and capacities needed in environmental careers, which could impact their ability to contribute to environmental work. We describe findings from a retrospective-pre/post survey after a conservation internship program for high-school youth. Factor analyses and t-tests indicated that interns expanded their understanding of environmental careers, developed resilience and were more engaged in pro-environmental behaviors post-internship. We discuss the implications of youths’ perceptions of environmental careers for the future of the environmental workforce.

Acknowledgements

The research was conducted as part of the evaluation of Leaders in Environmental Action for the Future (LEAF) program, with private funding. The authors served as independent external evaluators for the project and are solely responsible for the content. The authors thank Brigitte Griswold, Past Director of Youth Programs for The Nature Conservancy, Rachel Vasquez, Past LEAF Program Coordinator and Sophie Gloeckler, Research Assistant at New Knowledge Organization (dba Knology), and John Voilkis, Researcher at Knology, for their support on this study.

Author disclosure statement

No competing financial interests exist.