QLF continues to provide quality hands-on instruction and training in conservation biology to youth residing on the Great Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland and the southern Labrador coast. The goal is to foster a generation of citizens equipped to address the priority environmental challenges facing their communities.
Each year a team of highly trained instructors, working under the direction of Dr. Kathleen Blanchard, design and implement approximately 20 workshops on topics ranging from coastal waterbird and marine mammal monitoring to climate change impacts, plastic waste, and wildlife-borne diseases. Both youth and adults appreciate the dynamic teaching style that the instructors bring to their schools and small communities.
An important objective of the program is leadership development. Youth who have been returning for many years to multi-day workshops based at the Point Amour Lighthouse Provincial Historic Site are given one-on-one training to become instructors in the program. The program’s long-term success is measured by the conscientious approach being taken by these teenage instructors, many of whom have expressed a passionate interest in pursuing a wildlife or marine conservation career.
