2 minute read
Where Will You Go with CLC?
Since its inception in 2002, the Conservation Leadership Corps (CLC) has been an evolving program. Originally, it was a way the Conservation Federation of Missouri could engage young people in conservation issues. Today, CLC serves as an opportunity for students to develop the skills they need to become the future leaders of conservation in Missouri, or wherever life takes them. Successful students don’t always have to become conservation professionals to remain active in our natural resources and outdoor heritage. You can take conservation everywhere you go.
Jake Swafford was a CLC student from 2005-2011. He came to CLC during high school after participating in MU’s Conservation Honors Program. While at CLC, he met conservation professionals that were dedicated to helping him grow into an engaged conservation leader. Through these relationships, he learned about Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever (PF/QF) and was selected for a private lands position working for the organization in New Mexico, but his homestate and friends were calling him back. In 2016, QF moved Jake back to Missouri where he quickly took on the role of Coordinating Wildlife Biologist. He now coordinates with conservation partners like the Missouri Department of Conservation and the Natural Resources Conservation Service to deliver conservation programs to local landowners. Jake’s work focuses on improving monarch, pollinator, and quail habitat on private lands. He said, “While working on private lands, I get to see lots of things that others don’t get to. Interacting with landowners and learning their vision for restoration of their lands is very rewarding.”
Jake’s current position has him behind a desk more often than in the field, but he’s learned to appreciate the impact that program coordination and policy development can have on improving wildlife habitat. Jake is just 1 of 20 Missouri Quail Forever staff with boots-on-the ground, “In my work, monarch habitat is the primary focus and that does good things for all other wildlife. We’ve got a great team making a difference across the whole state.”
Jake Swafford meets with a local landowner at a Quail Forever workshop. (Photo: Quail Forever)
Many of the networking and communication skills he uses today, he was first exposed to in CLC. He said what he most enjoyed about CLC was that students were given room to make the program their own. Many of the policies and experiences Jake helped establish as a student are still alive and well in the CLC program today. That freedom he received in CLC has been invaluable to his career. We all strive to ‘move the needle of conservation’ toward a better future.
Jake is still very much involved in CLC. He serves on the YCA Committee and helps lead activities with the students. He reminds current students, “Make the program your own! Where does conservation need us to go in the future? Take a leadership role in conservation now.” He added, “I would encourage anyone interested in CLC or anyone who knows a promising student that this is absolutely a great program, you gain insight into the conservation field by being involved in the organization. You start building relationships with conservation professionals that are already doing what you hope to do. Getting that experience and recognition gives you an edge when applying for jobs. CLC helped me find my interests and figure out where I wanted to go moving forward. That experience, is invaluable.”
CLC applications close on July 10th, 2020. Apply at confedmo.org/clc.
