# Pheasants Forever and FFA Team to Enhance Learning



## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

*Pheasants Forever and FFA Team to Enhance Learning*

_PF and FFA working to develop today's youth into tomorrow's conservation
leaders_

Saint Paul, Minn. - June 25, 2007 - Pheasants Forever (PF) has announced
the creation of a national collaborative effort with the National FFA
Organization to focus on building student leadership and instill a
conservation ethic in young adults.

Through a variety of projects and programs, including schoolyard habitat
projects, the effort will connect local PF chapters and members to their
local FFA chapters and student members, benefiting school systems and
communities. Schoolyard habitats are designed to establish working outdoor
classrooms for students, which create environments that allow students to
learn a variety of subjects through the outdoors.

"Both organizations realize that the youngsters our programs reach today
will be future leaders in agriculture and conservation tomorrow," said Rich
Wissink, PF Youth Program Specialist, "This new collaboration with the FFA
gives young adults in high school the opportunity to satisfy their interest
in conservation and wildlife management."

"This collaborative educational effort makes total sense for both
organizations. It will connect PF members to local agricultural science
education programs and local agriculture educators," said Lynn Campbell,
Senior Regional Director with the National FFA Foundation. "As we continue
to expand the understanding of agriculture and diversify the number and
focus of programs for all our members - in areas such as natural resources,
habitat, land stewardship and activities beyond production farming -
combining efforts with Pheasants Forever seems like a natural fit."

The national collaboration is built upon innovative ideas PF chapters and
FFA chapters have already initiated, including PF chapters providing
financial support of the National FFA Wildlife Management Proficiency
awards and providing gift subscriptions of the Pheasants Forever Journal of
Upland Conservation to National FFA chapters. "At the local level,
Pheasants Forever and FFA have been working together for a number of years,
so this national collaboration is based on those local interests and
successes," Wissink said.

One such project is a wildlife habitat project in Lincoln, Nebraska. The
Cornhusker Chapter of PF joined the Norris High School FFA chapter to plant
and manage an educational prairie on school property. The 65-acre prairie,
planted in April, will serve as a natural classroom where students can
learn about agriculture, natural history and a conservation ethic. "The
partnership makes sense for Pheasants Forever because many FFA members
belong to farm families and they're the future owners of rural land," said
Ken Hesser, a board member with the Cornhusker chapter. "The seed planted
in their minds is far more important than the seeds we planted in the
ground," he said.

For more information on the collaborative educational effort between PF and
the National FFA Organization, contact Rich Wissink at (715)722-0286 or via
email at [email protected].


----------

