Conservation Legacy

Get to Know the Conservation Educators of Conservation Legacy

The Conservation Educators bring wildlife, water, land, conservation and stewardship to the classroom, helping spark the excitement of students and teachers alike. Each has a passion for natural resource education, a distinct instructional style and continual desire to learn more so they can continue to engage with those they teach.

Several days a week, the educators are in the classroom incorporating Texas wildlife into science classrooms via the Wildlife by Design Program. During the summer, classroom teachers become the students and take part in daylong workshops hosted by the educators, leaving with lessons and resources for the upcoming school year.

Learn about your local TWA Educator—put a face to the name—let them know about a local school they should visit!

This month, meet the educators from the Greater Houston Area, and look in next month’s magazine to meet those from West Texas, Dallas/Fort Worth and the Rio Grande Valley.

ALI KUEHN Conservation Educator akuehn@texas-wildlife.org Brazoria, Chambers, Galveston, Liberty and Eastern Harris County ISDs

BEEN WITH TWA SINCE: April 2019

A CHILDHOOD

MEMORY WITH NATURE:

Bringing my first snake home to my parents (we lived in an area without venomous snakes). My parents weren't thrilled, but they did let me keep her until she got loose in the house. Her name was Rose.

FAVORITE TEXAS SPECIES:

Harris’s Hawk. I love that they are a social raptor and that they have varied hunting strategies to work together to catch larger prey. So smart! And all of the ones I worked with in captivity have the biggest attitudes, and I love anything with an attitude to match mine.

IF I WASN'T A TWA

CONSERVATION EDUCATOR, I WOULD BE…

A professional travel blogger.

ADRIENNE PAQUETTE Conservation Educator apaquette@texas-wildlife.org Fort Bend, Montgomery, Waller and Western Harris County ISDs

BEEN WITH TWA SINCE: March 2015

FAVORITE CL TEACHING MOMENT:

I love watching kids make connections between what we're teaching about Texas wildlife and what they see every day in their neighborhoods. Even if all I do is help one person make a decision to conserve water at home or inspect an insect more closely instead of stepping on it, I have made an impact that will hopefully ripple into a future filled with kids who respect the wildlife around them.

FAVORITE TEXAS SPECIES:

It's hard to pick a favorite Texas animal, but I'm a sucker for loving the hard-tolove animals. One of my favorites is the opossum. They may not be the cutest animals, but I love the job they do at eating insects like ticks and cockroaches. They're also nearly immune to rabies! I am grateful for our only native North American marsupial.

IF I WASN'T A TWA

CONSERVATION EDUCATOR, I WOULD BE…

A horse trainer.

CRITTER CONNECTIONS Subscribe to Critter Connections Today!

• Quarterly youth magazine of the Texas Wildlife Association o Issues in February, April, September, November

• Available in hardcopy and digital formats o Classroom sets and individual subscriptions

• Each issue features puzzles, activities, a featured article about native

Texas wildlife and so much more!

• Read-along videos available of past issues and live read-along broadcasts of new issues

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