40 Years of Learning Along the Wolf

In a broad sense, Wolf River Conservancy has been educating people from the very beginning, sharing the beauty of the Wolf River and the reasons it needed protection with anyone who would listen, in as many ways as possible.  An organization with its origins in the paddling community introduced many more people to the wonders of the Wolf through countless trips down the river, but its volunteers also reached out through community events and service projects, and with speakers and slideshows.  It was these early efforts to raise awareness through words, images, and experiences that built our organization from the ground up and enabled the protection of land and water we have achieved so far.  

While educating the community at large about the Wolf River, the Conservancy naturally encountered many young people – as children of participating adults, as Scouts helping with service projects, as students brought to the river by engaged teachers, etc. Outreach specifically to kids, however, seems to have begun with Larry Smith, who enjoyed introducing students to the outdoors on field trips to the Wolf River.  In the Jan. 1996 newsletter, Larry reported on several education activities that took place in 1995, including wading at Bateman Bridge with Grace St. Lukes 6^th graders. Soon after that, Larry became Wolf River Conservancy’s first Executive Director, and his education efforts continued along with his many other responsibilities.

In 2001, a grant from the McKnight Foundation allowed the Conservancy to hire Shawna Wheeler, its first official part-time educator, who was joined by Kristen Gronostaj in 2003. They shared the responsibility of providing packets of information on the Wolf River to every school in the watershed and slide presentations on request, as well as participating in SWEEP, the City of Memphis Stormwater Education Program.  In 2004, Rachel Burkett took on the role of part-time educator, or River Ambassador, until 2005. Sherry Weakley stepped in from 2004 to 2008, and Cathy Justis came on board in 2007 while continuing her work at Lichterman Nature Center.  She was offered a full-time position in the fall of 2008 and has occupied the WRC Director of Education position ever since.

Cathy has continued presenting to classrooms and leading field trips for students over the years, reaching thousands of young people annually, diversifying the selection of programs offered, and adding more opportunities for habitat service projects.  She launched WRC’s first lecture series in the summer of 2008, which expanded into webinars in 2020 with the pandemic and now provides both in-person and online programs. Frog Chorus Walks and Wolf River Stream Strolls were added in 2009, as well as water workshops for educators, especially Project WET.  All of these programs can still be found on our annual calendar.

The WRC Education Program has been supported by funding from a number of sources, notably the FedEx National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Five Star grants which have provided funds for both education and habitat restoration for over 10 years.  Other funders have included Buckman, the Crawford Howard Family Foundation, TC Energy, the McKnight Foundation, and others. Grants from International Paper funded the IP EcoChallenge field trip adventures for IP’s adopted schools for several years.  The Lichterman Loewenberg Foundation supported a summer paddling camp from 2012-2015.  

A new chapter of the Wolf River Conservancy Education Program will begin with the completion of the Wolf River Greenway in the near future. The Greenway is already a great field trip destination for teachers, especially with assistance from Conservancy staff. Once the trail is completed, educational and other programming is likely to evolve to reach even more people than it does now.  Unlike land conservation, with neatly tabulated acreage outlined on a map, the outcomes of the Conservancy’s ongoing education program can’t be directly measured beyond the numbers of people it reaches.  Our hope is that we are helping to create informed, concerned, and enthusiastic citizens who value the natural wonders of the Wolf River and who will become its champions in the future.

‍