High School

Teaching Children the Value of Wetlands

Every morning Allison Shealy drives to her office at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay Wildlife Refuge Environmental Education Center in the middle of an expansive and beautiful wetland in Alviso. What’s striking is the quiet peace of the wetland surrounded by various manifestations of civilization: white, square industry buildings, a water treatment facility, a housing complex and the soft, steady roar of highway 880.

But this piece of wetland, part of the dwindling wetlands left in the Bay Area (only 20 percent of the original wetlands is left), is a refuge for a diverse population of birds. On my visit with Allison I saw a great white heron skimming its feet through the water with wings open and outstretched, terns nose diving into the water, and a flock of white pelicans taking off from a strip of land protruding into a pool of rippling, blue water.

Allison has learned a lot about birds and wetlands this summer. And she has also taught a lot of people about wetlands and their importance to wildlife and humans. “I knew I wanted to do something for the environment and I love kids…so environmental education seemed perfect,” said Ally, who is majoring in environmental education at Denison University in Ohio.

Her main job this summer was to plan and run a week-long summer camp for kids, with a focus on learning about wetlands. Ally was put in charge of everything from calling the parents before camp started, to creating games, to running the activities. “It was definitely a challenge to organize the camp and be in charge, but it is something different and fun,” she said.

The camp had a definite focus on environmental education with such games as, “Where Have all the Wetlands Gone?” and “Slow the Flow”, but Ally made sure the kids enjoyed themselves while learning. “Leading the activities with the kids is the best part,” she said, adding that elementary kids are her favorite because they are the most impressionable and enthusiastic. “It is encouraging (to teach young kids). Kids are the future. I feel like I am really making a difference by impacting kids at a young age,” she said.

Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge in Alviso is a long distance from her home in Charlestown, North Carolina, where she has spent past summers working local jobs, but now she has a taste of what a really meaningful and exciting job can be.

“I do feel like I am helping influence people and making a difference,” she said, “And I will never go back to a ho-hum job just for the money. Hopefully I’ll stick with influential jobs where I can make a difference.”

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