Green Leadership Academy for Diverse Ecosystems

Dear Interested Educators and Parents:

     The Missouri State University (MSU) Biology Department and the Greater Ozarks Audubon Society are proud to announce that they will again host an all expenses paid, residential, ecology camp at the Bull Shoals Field Station from June 20-26, 2010. To accomplish this, we need your help in selecting an all star team of the best environmentally-oriented high school students in southwest Missouri.                 

     The second annual Green Leadership Academy for Diverse Ecosystems, GLADE, is funded by National Audubon’s TogetherGreen program, Community Foundation of the Ozarks Rural Schools Partnership (CFO), Greater Ozarks Audubon, and MSU. Selected teens will gain knowledge and awareness of fragile Missouri ecosystems by engaging in hands-on learning experiences in a biology research-based setting. GLADE’s ultimate goals are to develop environmental leaders for the future and to restore critical habitat for endangered species in southwest Missouri. Participants will return to their schools and communities with the skills to complete a conservation project, and may apply for up to a $500 grant from CFO to fund their project. Last year, two academy grads leveraged their $100 each, raising $2000 to build a rain garden at their high school by organizing a mostly volunteer work force.

     The Bull Shoals Field Station, located in the Drury-Mincy Conservation Area, and part of the large White River Glades and Woodlands Important Bird Area provides the backdrop for this exciting adventure. Students are housed in the two residences on the property and receive all meals. Selected participants also receive field guides, and many resource materials and supplies.

     Please present this opportunity to the student or students most deserving of this honor. If you would like, I could travel to your school to do a GLADE presentation for your advanced biology classes during the month of February and early March. Feel free to contact me by phone, snail mail, or email. Or to learn about GLADE from a teacher’s perspective, contact Sparta Biology Instructor Treva Henderson, who worked with students participating in last summer’s academy. She can be reached by email at thenderson@sparta.k12.mo.us or by phone (417) 634-3224.

     Competition for the sixteen positions is expected to be high, so applicants are encouraged to submit their documents well in advance of the deadline. Application deadline is Friday, March 19, 2010. All applicants, successful or not, will be notified by mid April.

    The GLADE brochure and application are available as PDF files on this website. If there are other teachers or parents that you know who have qualified students, please copy and share this information with them. Thank you very much for your student recommendations and for assisting qualified students in the application process. You are GLADE’s vital link to promising, conservation-oriented young people.

Sincerely,

Greg Swick, Director

Green Leadership Academy for Diverse Ecosystems

1503 E. Bingham St.

Ozark, MO 65721

Phone: (417) 581-2757

Email:  grswick@gmail.com

Website:  www.greenleadershipacademy.org