Redesigning Our Future

By: JaneCameron Williamson Ben Prater On the 12th day of July, 2013 Ben Prater came to talk to the participants about developing a strategy to better understand a conservation project. He had a great system of thinking. He taught us the main 5 steps: Identify the issue. Consider your stakeholders. Set your SMART goals. Develop a strategy. He said long term goals are better and a S.M.A.R.T. goal stood for: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely. Some social strategies he talked about were: Information/Education, Social Marketing, and Regulation. Also he talked about conceptual lenses we use to understand something such as; urgency lens, building block lens, advocacy lens, feasibility lens, commitment lens, and impact lens. He was very fun to listen to and had quotes all throughout his presentation. One that I enjoyed was from John Naisbitt: "We are drowning in information, while starving for wisdom."

By: Katie Trischman Fungi capture the rainforest-esque feel of the preserve After the past two days of warm rain, the Catawba nature preserve resembled a rainforest more than the cornfield that it once was. Certainly there were enough mosquitoes to be a rainforest. Despite the mud and parasites, one group braves the elements to monitor the health of the preserve's ecosystem. The Backbone for Conservation focus group is extremely hands-on and is involved with studying the vertebrates of the preserve. They have caught and tagged both turtles and birds (about only 5 species out of the 245 vertebrates on the preserve) all while being eaten alive by mosquitoes. Bird netting, however, is not as glamorous as it sounds; it takes a lot of sitting around in the mud. After following Professor Joe Posten through the trails, the group sets up the thin net across a pathway that Professor Posten deems suitable. He usually listens for bird calls and tries to set up in an area w...

By: JaneCameron Williamson   The Price of Everything Focus Group From Left to Right: Madison Labonte, Grace Owen, Lindsey Conlan, Daniel Richardson, Malcolm King, Patrick Moore   The members of the focus group, Price Of Everything, was really pumped to be in their group. They really enjoyed it and thought it focused a lot on the economic and political part of protecting and explaining environmental problems. I talked to group members Daniel Richardson and Malcolm King. Daniel explained that he felt that economics was a big part of how we handle expenses that improve the environment and without the markets, we wouldn't have the proper lifestyle to protect us. Malcolm thought it focused more on the political side. He told me that they talk about how the markets work and the connections it has to the environment and they have also learned that in order to create a better system for trash, we need to change our own lifestyles. I believe the group was a great way...

By: Raul Barreda and Morgan King Sarah Moore explains the different events of  Ecolympics before all the craziness got started.  The teams were divided up into their focus groups and competed against each other.  And the Events are.... Challenge #1-Enviromental Telephone  Challenge #2-Animal Noises Challege #3-Rock, Paper, Scissors... make sure you recycle the paper!  Challenge #4-Eco Dancing  Challege #5-Recycling Races And the Winners are.... 1st Place- Invasive Alien Plants and Animals 2nd Place- A Backbone for Conservation 3rd Place- Scared Places

By: Katie Trischman Our Camper of Interest: Ariana Nicholson of Durham, North Carolina   Want to get involved? Go to NCSCA's facebook or their website ! A picture from NCSCA's website It is without a doubt that every person attending the summit is passionate about the environment, but one girl in particular has found a medium to express her passion; she is an important member of the steering committee in the North Carolina Students for Climate Action (NCSCA for short). The main goals of the NCSCA are to raise awareness about climate change and encourage youth to take action such as attending clean up events or lobbying. And Ariana Nicholson is directly in the middle of all the action.  Ariana has had her fair share of experiences in raising awareness for climate change and has possessed a passion for nature for as long as she can remember. However, she never actually did anything until she went to the Outdoor Academy in the 10th grade. Th...

By: Katie Trischman What We Did   The Environmental Summit of 2013 began its first day in Catawba's 189-acre ecological preserve to study a subject called biomimicry. Don't worry; that term sounded foreign to us as well before we began our geocaching adventure. With only a map and a GPS, each group set out to find their own sequence of geocache stations and slowly discover the possibilities of biomimicry.  Biomimicry is taking inspiration from nature and solving current issues with these models from nature. It sounds so surprisingly simple, yet humans have remained trapped in their ways of doing things for thousands of years. Where do we look for our solutions, and how do we translate the natural world into industry? We not only found inspiration in each station but also all around us in the marshy woodland of Catawba's ecological preserve .   What We Learned   Our amphibious friend: the salamander Our trek through the reserve wasn't all mo...