Although
he
has
loved
the
outdoors
since
he
was
small,
it
was
in
middle
school
when
Tyler
Kirkland's
interests
became
a
passion
for
environmental
conservation.
Now
a
senior
in
Freedom
High
School's
Center
for
Environmental
and
Natural
Sciences
(CENS)
program,
Kirkland
is
honing
in
on
a
life
goal
as
he
begins
conducting
research
on
plants
and
soil
through
a
microgrant
he
received
from
Conservation
Nation's
Next
Generation
Conservationist
program
(NxtGen).
The
program
is
open
to
9-12
grade
students
who
are
passionate
about
wildlife,
the
environment,
and
community
leadership.
Applicants
complete
a
proposal
and
participate
in
an
interview. Kirkland
was
awarded
$500
to
solve
a
conservation
challenge
within
his
community.
"In
a
biology
class
I'm
taking,
we
did
a
project
looking
for
places
on
campus
that
would
be
good
for
a
native
plant
garden,"
said
Kirkland,
of
how
the
idea
got
started.
"In
October,
Dr.
([Jessica]
Doiron
shared
some
information
with
CENS
students
about
the
Next
Generation
Conservationist
program.
I
am
interested
to
see
if
the
native
plants
will
reduce
the
number
of
contaminants
in
runoff
that
affects
our
local
pond."
For
the
grant
project,
Kirkland
will
spend
the
next
few
months
creating
a
native
plant
garden
on
Freedom's
campus
to
find
out
if
the
plants
effectively
help
remove
contaminants
from
the
soil.
Although
it
will
be
a
little
while
before
he
plants,
Kirkland
has
been
participating in
monthly
meetings
with
the
NxtGen
Conservationist
Program
team
to
monitor
his
progress
and
has
identified
a
list
of
native
plants
and
a
location
on
campus. He
will
soon
begin
taking
soil
samples
to
study
pH,
levels
of
nitrogen
and
phosphorus,
and
describe
the
composition
of
the
soil.
His
list
of
native
starter
plants
includes
Virginia
Bluebell,
Blue
False
Indigo,
Coral
Honeysuckle,
American
Wisteria,
Cinnamon
ferns,
and
Ostrich
ferns.
Kirkland
envisions
the
project
as
an
ongoing
one,
a
gateway
for
future
students
and
future
projects.
Kirkland
said
that
the
encouragement
he
received
while
attending
Rippon
Middle
School,
as
well
as
membership
in
the
school's
garden
club,
gave
him
a
chance
to
be
part
of
a
committed
group
and
helped
him
experience
the
impact
of
work
that
could
offer
lasting,
positive
change.
This
has
stayed
with
him.
"With
time
and
effort
from
the
garden
club,
we
turned
these
two
gardens
into
beautiful
outdoor
places.
This
allowed
other
classes
to
take
their
education
outside
during
the
warmer
seasons.
Remembering
that
always
makes
me
feel
like
I
helped
make
a
change
that
benefitted
everyone,"
he
said.
"With
the
higher
levels
of
education,
in
conjunction
with
many
opportunities
through
my
high
school's
CENS
program,
my
passion
for
the
environment
has
been
realized.
I
have
confirmed
a
life
goal,
sprouted
from
these
experiences,
to
have
a
career
in
conservation."
Kirkland's
story
was
featured
in
a
spotlight
on
Conservation
Nation's
website.
