TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – There are many paths to conservation, and one of them is through a nonprofit in Tallahassee.
Through their programs and initiatives, Conservation Pathways supports aspiring conservationists by bridging the gap between college and career while helping shape a sustainable tomorrow for our planet.
The nonprofit’s founder and director, Rebecca Means, has been working in conservation for 25 years. In 2024, she founded Conservation Pathways to mentor high school and college students in the community.
Currently, the nonprofit mentors students from Florida State University and Florida A&M University, and the organization just started their high school program at Leon High School.
One of the things is teaching our future, our future leaders, the next generation, not only about the importance of the local ecology and how things are connected but also teaching them ways to convey that information to the general public that may not have that science knowledge.
Through the organization’s Pathway Programs, the nonprofit meets a broad range of students where they are to help them get where they want to be.
A lot of time our students are in high school and they’re interested in science. They want to be a scientist but they don’t know all of the options available to them. They may be an environmental science major but they don’t know all the different ways they can be an environmental scientist in the world. So we help them find their passion by teaching them all of their opportunities.
It’s not just students who benefit from the nonprofit. Rebecca organizes field trips in the community for places like senior centers, and community organizations that are interested in learning about the plants, animals and ecosystems in our area.
For Rebecca, conservation pathways is a calling.
I get a little teary when I talk about this. I’m a scientist. I am very passionate about conservation and preserving our eco-systems. But a lot of it is just the experience of watching these students and the transformation that occurs with them when they get out into local eco-systems. At the end of their internships, I have heard things like this has changed my life. Hearing that is really powerful and gives me hope for the future.
The program is life changing for the students like Katie Allen Florida State senior and critical for the ecosystem that makes up our region.
The more people can get educated on the environment starting at their local ecology is really important. I think it’s something everyone can relate to, that we should protect everything that we have going on around us because it’s so special and important and fostering that kind of connection with humans is very important.
The organization is run by volunteers and born from love, respect and a need to protect our priceless natural resources. Rebecca says conservation pathways is all about helping — helping students, and helping the community learn about our unique ecosystem.
I want people to know how unique this Big Bend region of Florida is and the importance of our eco-systems and also how connected everything is here – so if we damage one thing it can have impacts on a lot.
To get involved with conservation pathways or donate go to conservation-pathways.org.
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