MEMPHIS, Tenn., June 6, 2007 – Ducks Unlimited named Indiana a “Top 10” state for its efforts to promote conservation among Indiana’s youth. At its annual convention in Anchorage, Alaska, May 25-26, Indiana received the prestigious “2006 Project Webfoot/Greenwing National Award,” named for Ducks Unlimited’s two national youth programs.
Indiana’s state Greenwing chairman during 2006, Frank Wolka Jr. of Valonia, Ind., and state chairman, David Seger, of Jasper, Ind., accepted the award.
“Our children are our future and the assurance that there will be wetlands for tomorrow if we plant the seeds by educating them about the value of wetlands to all, “said Wolka. “Project WET and Angie Tilton of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources are terrific partners that make these successes possible. Ducks Unlimited couldn’t get this wetlands conservation education program in as many schools across Indiana as we are without Angie and Project WET.”
Ducks Unlimited’s (DU) Greenwing program is for DU members age 17 and younger. Greenwings receive a special DU magazine, Puddler, and attend Greenwing events just for kids.
Project Webfoot is a wetlands education program and curriculum created by Ducks Unlimited for educators and 4th-6th grade students. Webfoot offers teachers learning materials that can be integrated into the existing school curriculum to help bring the world of wetlands to life for students.
DU recognized the top 10 states for growth in Greenwing Memberships, Project Webfoot enrollments, and measured increases in Greenwing events.
“While these awards are earned for numerical goals, the hard work of the people who have made these numbers happen is more difficult to measure,” said Jim West, DU’s executive secretary, who presented the award. “These states have shown true leadership in cultivating today’s youth to be tomorrow’s conservationists.”
Contact: Laura Houseal
(901) 758-3764
lhouseal@ducks.org
With more than a million supporters, Ducks Unlimited is the world’s largest and most effective wetland and waterfowl conservation organization with almost 12 million acres conserved. The United States alone has lost more than half of its original wetlands - nature’s most productive ecosystem - and continues to lose more than 80,000 wetland acres each year.