The Green Leadership Academy for Diverse Ecosystems (GLADE) is an innovative conservation leadership project developed by the Greater Ozarks Audubon Society and the Missouri State University Biology Department.
GLADE was originally part of the TogetherGreen project, a National Audubon Society alliance with Toyota Motors. The GLADE project was one of approximately 40 innovation grants awarded nationwide each year. To date, it is the only TG grant project in the nation that was funded for three consecutive years.
Each summer, sixteen outstanding, conservation-oriented young people are selected to participate in a variety of hands-on ecology activities that include bird banding, water quality monitoring, habitat restoration, leadership development, and community improvement.
In the summer of 2013, GLADE will operate entirely from the generosity of local and regional individuals, non-profits, and corporations. The idea was conceived in the Ozarks, developed in the Ozarks, and hopes to make a lasting and postive impact on Ozarks communities, both biological and human.
Founded: 2009
Leadership Philosophy
It is not leadership from any one person that is required; it is an aspect of leadership each of us summons from within. ~J. Niremberg, 1993.
Project Overview
The Green Leadership Academy for Diverse Ecosystem (GLADE) is a youth leadership project developed by the Missouri State University Biology Department and the Greater Ozarks Audubon Society. The seven day residential, conservation academy will take place from June 16-22, 2013, at the Bulls Shoals Field Station in the Drury-Mincy Conservation Area in southwest Missouri.
General Information
GLADE participants experience a variety of hands-on, conservation activities involving threatened species of Missouri, fragile Ozarks habitats, bird population census, riparian zone giant cane restoration, glade restoration, and water quality monitoring.
GLADE allows the Greater Ozarks Audubon Society and Missouri State University to join forces in an effort to develop future conservation leaders, to restore habitat for endangered species in the White River Glades and Woodlands Important Bird Area, and to enrich Ozarks communities through their student-developed conservation action projects.
Mission
The mission of the Green Leadership Academy for Diverse Ecosystems (GLADE) is to increase participant knowledge and skills in the care of Ozarks ecosystems, to restore critical habitat for endangered species of Missouri, to develop informed community leaders, and to improve the quality of life through conservation efforts throughout the Ozarks.
Outcomes
2. Restored critical habitat leading to the return of significant populations of resident and neotropical species, including Swainson’s Warbler and Bachman’s Sparrow.
3. Enriched communities throughout the Ozarks through Community Conservation Action Projects developed by GLADE graduates.
