As a SCEP student and Visitor Services Park Ranger for Minnesota Valley NationalWildlife Refuge, Lionel Grant is responsible for the creation and implementation of
environmental education programming. He is charged with the task of finding ways to
connect surrounding members of the underserved community with the refuge.
Grant says his interest was piqued in the Service while serving as chapter president of an organization called Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources & Related Sciences (MANRRS) at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. His goal was to find ways that MANRRS could get involved with the Crab Orchard NWR which is located just outside of Carbondale, in Marion, Ill. As a then volunteer at a local refuge, he heard about a possible SCEP opening in the Midwest Region through an e-mail. "I jumped on it," he says. "I landed my career in the Service by maintaining a healthy relationship with refuges within my area."
Grant’s first job for the Service was made possible by the Student Conservation Association (SCA). "As a junior at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, I had heard of this organization while attending a national MANRRS conference back in 2008", he says. He landed a successful interview with Virginia Retting of Cape May National Wildlife Refuge in Cape May Court House, New Jersey.
Throughout his development as an undergrad, Grant says that there were a few people that he looked to as mentors but there is one that stands out the most. Dr. Dexter Wakefield, an Associate Professor in Agriculture Education at Southern Illinois University Carbondale was a major influence in his life. "He has advised me throughout my time at SIUC," Grant says, "and always been there to lend his support. Dr. Wakefield encouraged me to take my first venture with USFWS through SCA and for that, I am thankful."
Grant is the first in his immediate family to complete college by earning a Bachelor in Science from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. At present he is pursuing a Masters in Forestry: Human Dimensions of Natural Resources with Emphasis on Nature Deficits Disorder. He is the first in his extended family to embark on such an endeavor, as well.
Grant’s beaming enthusiasm is nothing less than contagious when asked about the children and nature programs at the Minnesota Valley NWR that he’s involved in. "This program fuels my passion because I always believed there needs to be a connection that children can make both in and outside of the classroom," he says. "This program does just that. Not only does this educate children on why what we do is important, but it also helps protect wildlife by creating environmental stewards. The most rewarding feeling I get is when we hear back about how the children are still inspired to learn about nature. That lets me know that we are doing our job (and affecting their lives)."
Grant is also a trained "Flying Wild" Program Facilitator. In this role, he helps to cultivate student’s birder knowledge.
The biggest challenge he faces is navigating in around the unknown social barriers. He says that dealing with youth in their teens can be difficult. In his own youth he remembers having had a lot of mixed emotions about people in uniforms. As a Chicago teen, some of his experiences with people in uniforms were not positive, an experience that is not uncommon in underserved communities. "Another major factor is that for decades minorities, especially African Americans, have been bound by fears that we don’t belong in the forests," he says. "I was not exempt from this pattern of thinking. Instead of a re-introduction [to nature] it is an introduction to minorities for the first time." These are all issues that the Service must overcome to be successful in its objectives.
Grant plans to use his teachings to help enhance our environmental education programs that are implemented throughout the Service. He says he hopes his future in the Service will allow him to help open doors for others. Grant’s engaging personality will serve him well in this endeavor.
--Valerie Rose Redmond
External Affairs
Throughout his development as an undergrad, Grant says that there were a few people that he looked to as mentors but there is one that stands out the most. Dr. Dexter Wakefield, an Associate Professor in Agriculture Education at Southern Illinois University Carbondale was a major influence in his life. "He has advised me throughout my time at SIUC," Grant says, "and always been there to lend his support. Dr. Wakefield encouraged me to take my first venture with USFWS through SCA and for that, I am thankful."
Grant is the first in his immediate family to complete college by earning a Bachelor in Science from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. At present he is pursuing a Masters in Forestry: Human Dimensions of Natural Resources with Emphasis on Nature Deficits Disorder. He is the first in his extended family to embark on such an endeavor, as well.
Grant’s beaming enthusiasm is nothing less than contagious when asked about the children and nature programs at the Minnesota Valley NWR that he’s involved in. "This program fuels my passion because I always believed there needs to be a connection that children can make both in and outside of the classroom," he says. "This program does just that. Not only does this educate children on why what we do is important, but it also helps protect wildlife by creating environmental stewards. The most rewarding feeling I get is when we hear back about how the children are still inspired to learn about nature. That lets me know that we are doing our job (and affecting their lives)."
Grant is also a trained "Flying Wild" Program Facilitator. In this role, he helps to cultivate student’s birder knowledge.
The biggest challenge he faces is navigating in around the unknown social barriers. He says that dealing with youth in their teens can be difficult. In his own youth he remembers having had a lot of mixed emotions about people in uniforms. As a Chicago teen, some of his experiences with people in uniforms were not positive, an experience that is not uncommon in underserved communities. "Another major factor is that for decades minorities, especially African Americans, have been bound by fears that we don’t belong in the forests," he says. "I was not exempt from this pattern of thinking. Instead of a re-introduction [to nature] it is an introduction to minorities for the first time." These are all issues that the Service must overcome to be successful in its objectives.
Grant plans to use his teachings to help enhance our environmental education programs that are implemented throughout the Service. He says he hopes his future in the Service will allow him to help open doors for others. Grant’s engaging personality will serve him well in this endeavor.
--Valerie Rose Redmond
External Affairs
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