By: Lacie Grater
A New Haven High School senior, Austin Moeckli, has created a conservation group called Shamrock Conservation Association. The aim of this group is to help teach others about what conservation truly is, to show our respect towards our home place, and to help people come together to make our community look more presentable.
Since he was younger, Austin has had an interest in conservation, and over the years his interest has grown. He stated, “Ever since I was little, I was always interested in conservation, and the last few years I have gone to Earth's Classroom, The Missouri River Academy, the Washington Youth Summit on the Environment, and I do activities with Missouri River Relief. I really thought these groups were interesting, so I thought I would bring it to New Haven. We live in a town where conservation is all around us, so why not make a group about it?”
Austin continued: “Now, I want to become a Wildlife Biologist or, after that, a leader in conservation, but it can only be accomplished one step at a time. I have already been accepted into Missouri State University. This group could help to get into the career that I want.”
Austin’s junior year he began to work on putting this group together. He stated, “I started out asking a few friends what they thought about a conservation group at the school. They all liked it, so I then made the flyer which explained everything that I hoped the group would do. Next, I sent out a mass email to all of the classes and just simply asked around to see who else was interested. After that, I went to Mr. Stutzman, who told me all of the details needed to start a group. He later got me into a meeting with the School Board of Education after I had everything that was needed, and they approved.”
Last year, Austin started this group, and now he has accomplished what he set out to do. He stated that in this group, “there are about 48 members. I am very satisfied with the outcome of this group. I would have never thought that it would become this big. I could not be any happier. The amount of interest in this group is very exciting.”
According to Austin, the Shamrock Conservation Association will take part in “river and park cleanups, as well as outdoor recreation, tree plantings, environmental presentations by people such as Earth's Classroom, David Menke, the Missouri River Relief, Quail Forever, and possibly more. We will do a trip to the Berger Bend Unit as well as a trip to the New Haven museum. Most of us come from New Haven, so we should learn a little bit about its history. More activities are surely to come.”
Since this is Austin's senior year he will only be able to be the president for one year and will have to find another good leader to take his place. Austin stated, “I am really wanting the group to be student-led. We are actually all going to vote for our vice president, secretary, and treasurer at our next meeting. I hope that when I am gone the next president will not only be a good leader, but will also have a strong interest in conservation. Being president is a big responsibility, and I hope the group chooses wisely.”
Austin has worked hard to finish what his mind was set on, but he stated that his main goal for this group is “to teach the students of New Haven High School about conservation and how to maintain New Haven's natural resources.”
He continued by saying, “We live in a world today where we are cut off from everything else. Through our advancements, we have forgotten that we are also a part of the ecosystem. We need to realize that through these advancements, we are responsible for keeping this planet healthy. I want to do my part by connecting students to the outdoors, so that they can have experiences like I have had. Through these experiences, I hope that they will grow to care about the world as much as I do. Along the way, I hope that the students will care about how New Haven looks. We will do trash pick ups and a recycling project to get this idea into their heads. I believe that, as the world grows larger every day, the importance of conservation should become more and more important.”
A New Haven High School senior, Austin Moeckli, has created a conservation group called Shamrock Conservation Association. The aim of this group is to help teach others about what conservation truly is, to show our respect towards our home place, and to help people come together to make our community look more presentable.
Since he was younger, Austin has had an interest in conservation, and over the years his interest has grown. He stated, “Ever since I was little, I was always interested in conservation, and the last few years I have gone to Earth's Classroom, The Missouri River Academy, the Washington Youth Summit on the Environment, and I do activities with Missouri River Relief. I really thought these groups were interesting, so I thought I would bring it to New Haven. We live in a town where conservation is all around us, so why not make a group about it?”
Austin continued: “Now, I want to become a Wildlife Biologist or, after that, a leader in conservation, but it can only be accomplished one step at a time. I have already been accepted into Missouri State University. This group could help to get into the career that I want.”
Austin’s junior year he began to work on putting this group together. He stated, “I started out asking a few friends what they thought about a conservation group at the school. They all liked it, so I then made the flyer which explained everything that I hoped the group would do. Next, I sent out a mass email to all of the classes and just simply asked around to see who else was interested. After that, I went to Mr. Stutzman, who told me all of the details needed to start a group. He later got me into a meeting with the School Board of Education after I had everything that was needed, and they approved.”
Last year, Austin started this group, and now he has accomplished what he set out to do. He stated that in this group, “there are about 48 members. I am very satisfied with the outcome of this group. I would have never thought that it would become this big. I could not be any happier. The amount of interest in this group is very exciting.”
According to Austin, the Shamrock Conservation Association will take part in “river and park cleanups, as well as outdoor recreation, tree plantings, environmental presentations by people such as Earth's Classroom, David Menke, the Missouri River Relief, Quail Forever, and possibly more. We will do a trip to the Berger Bend Unit as well as a trip to the New Haven museum. Most of us come from New Haven, so we should learn a little bit about its history. More activities are surely to come.”
Since this is Austin's senior year he will only be able to be the president for one year and will have to find another good leader to take his place. Austin stated, “I am really wanting the group to be student-led. We are actually all going to vote for our vice president, secretary, and treasurer at our next meeting. I hope that when I am gone the next president will not only be a good leader, but will also have a strong interest in conservation. Being president is a big responsibility, and I hope the group chooses wisely.”
Austin has worked hard to finish what his mind was set on, but he stated that his main goal for this group is “to teach the students of New Haven High School about conservation and how to maintain New Haven's natural resources.”
He continued by saying, “We live in a world today where we are cut off from everything else. Through our advancements, we have forgotten that we are also a part of the ecosystem. We need to realize that through these advancements, we are responsible for keeping this planet healthy. I want to do my part by connecting students to the outdoors, so that they can have experiences like I have had. Through these experiences, I hope that they will grow to care about the world as much as I do. Along the way, I hope that the students will care about how New Haven looks. We will do trash pick ups and a recycling project to get this idea into their heads. I believe that, as the world grows larger every day, the importance of conservation should become more and more important.”
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