This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: Inspiring Teen Conservation Project with Nathaniel Mack.

Photo used with permission from Nathaniel and Natalie Mack

Inspiring Teen Conservation Project with Nathaniel Mack

This episode of Homeschool Highschool Podcast will inspire your teens to believe that they, too, can do things that make a difference! Natalie Mack and her son Nathaniel join Vicki to discuss his project for the Maryland Conservation District.

About Natalie Mack

As most folks know, Natalie is our 7Sisters’ Cousin and friend. She helped military homeschool association and podcast. Natalie has done a TEDx talk. She has helped military families on behalf of HSLDA. The list goes on and on.

Natalie has been homeschooling for more than twenty years. She and her husband have five children, so four have been homeschooled to college. All of those are now college graduates. Now, her youngest (Nathaniel) is starting 12th grade.

Natalie’s family is a military family so they have lived all over the world.

About Nathaniel Mack

Nathaniel got interested in conservation and just environmental science in general during middle school. He was noticing that environmental issuer were often on the news. This got him interested in what he could do in his community.

This interest in healthy environments has been an interest of his.

For example, when he was elementary age, Nathaniel and Natalie were at the commissary (grocery store for military families). The bagger at the checkout asked, “Do you want plastic or paper?”

Natalie answered that she wanted plastic bags. Nathaniel gasped and said, “Mom, you know where the plastic goes!”

So, his parents noticed his interest and helped him get started in several organizations that practice conservation and environmental science. Nathaniel explored his environmental issues with camps such as like Camp Woods and Wildlife,the Youth Conservation Corps, 4H Camp, and Boy Scout summer camp.

Youth Conservation Leadership Institute

Then in 2023, he got started with Youth Conservation Leadership Institute, which is part of Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District. In that program, Nathaniel worked with advisors, parents, and others in their county to select s a project that they wanted work with.

His project was reducing soil erosion and increasing pollination within his neighborhood park.

In preparation for the project, he attended training sessions on Zoom and had some books to read on the basics of conservation practices, environmental science, and pollination processes. He also learned how to network, oversee projects and people, build communication skills, motivational skills, fundraising skills, and how to advocate with authority figures. Nathaniel worked with his neighborhood board to earn permissions to carry out the project.

He was granted permission to install environmentally-safe erosion control netting along the Potomac riverbank and flood plain in his community park, as well as permission to plant milkweed for monarch butterflies.

Nathaniel needed volunteers to carry out the project

He created flyers to post around the community to tell about the project and invite involvement. Nathaniel also shared information on social media. His local homeschool friends and Scouting troupe joined him for park cleanup, the netting installation and milkweed planting. Folks from the local community helped with the work and feeding the volunteers, as well.

At the end of the year-long institute, Nathaniel made a poster presentation for the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District at his graduation ceremony for the program.

All of these experiences are good for Nathaniel in many ways

Nathaniel has learned how to invest in an interest and cause. He has learned valuable organizational, leadership, and soft skills. Not only that, he has added some powerful credits to his high school transcript, as well as building powerful things to talk about on his college application essays.

Nathaniel’s advice for fellow homeschoolers

Nathaniel believes that what you might be interested in right now, is a good thing stay with for a while. Your interests are likely to change in the future. However, you get so much from investing in interests for a good while.

Good advice from a wise and inspirational young person!

Join Vicki, Nathaniel, and Natalie Mack for an inspiring teen conservation project discussion.

And check out Natalie’s contributions to the homeschool community at:

• 
  
• NatalieMack.com
  
• Natalie Mack’s YouTube Channel
  
• Facebook: Homeschool Natalie Mack
  

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