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 continuous 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 Dallas/Fort Worth, West Texas and the Rio Grande Valley. Last month, the educators from the Greater Houston area were featured.

GWEN EISHEN Conservation Educator geishen@texas-wildlife.org Collin, Dallas, Ellis and Johnson Counties

BEEN WITH TWA SINCE: January 2018

WHAT INFLUENCED ME TO

BECOME ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS:

My dad raised us all to garden, to recycle or reuse materials as often as we could. Once I understood the issues facing our planet and the environment, being more conscious of my carbon footprint became a bigger part of my life.

FAVORITE TEXAS SPECIES:

American Black Bear. Coolest fact I know is that their diet is so rich in plants that we could use their scat for repopulating native species.

IF I WASN'T A TWA

CONSERVATION EDUCATOR, I WOULD BE…

A wildlife rescue and rehabilitator.

BRITTANI DAFFT Conservation Educator bdafft@texas-wildlife.org Andrews, Brewster, Crane, Culberson, Ector, Glasscock, Howard, Jeff Davis, Loving, Martin, Midland, Pecos, Presidio, Reagan, Reeves, Terrell, Upton, Ward and Winkler Counties

BEEN WITH TWA SINCE: September 2020

A CHILDHOOD MEMORY WITH NATURE:

At about age 9, my brother and I found a creek and decided to ride the current and see where it took us. The creek split and luckily, we took the right way as it looped back around and fed us upstream. It was a fun adventure but, looking back, who knows where we would have ended up if we had gone left.

FAVORITE TEXAS SPECIES:

One of my favorite Texas animals is the Mountain Lion. I have a deep respect for our apex predators. They are often misunderstood and undervalued. A cool fact about them: They are considered an umbrella species. Managing for and protecting their habitat indirectly protects many valuable native species.

IF I WASN'T A TWA

CONSERVATION EDUCATOR, I WOULD BE…

Doing something related to land and wildlife management—possibly running a wildlife rescue sanctuary.

ELISA VELADOR,Conservation Educator evelador@texas-wildlife.org Cameron, Hidalgo, Kenedy, Starr and Willacy Counties

BEEN WITH TWA SINCE: June 2014

FAVORITE CL TEACHING MOMENT:

I really feel good when a teacher tells me that his or her students were talking about one of my presentations for days and days after. I also like it when a student tells me that they want to do what I do. I inspire them, and they inspire me; always a win, win!

FAVORITE TEXAS SPECIES:

The elusive, endangered ocelot is my favorite Texas animal. A cool fact about ocelots is that they can climb straight down a tree trunk while facing downward because they can turn their ankle joints around.

IF I WASN'T A TWA

CONSERVATION EDUCATOR, I WOULD BE…

A marine biologist.