WHO WE ARE
OUR VISION: Healing the planet by transforming generations of leaders through nature.
OUR MISSION: To elevate youth and the community to become effective advocates and ethical stewards of themselves, wildlife, habitats and the environment.
Talking Talons Youth Leadership is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) youth development organization Inspiring Tomorrow’s Environmental Leaders. Today.
Talking Talons Youth Leadership is serving its community in powerful, effective ways:
- Building young leaders through environmental education and training in public speaking
- Educating youth in science-based conservation through long-term, in-school programs
- Providing hands-on conservation education and job-skills training at diverse outdoor classroom locations
- Engaging youth and the community in wildlife habitat improvement projects
- Managing community-based projects that benefit ecosystems and reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfires
- Generating local jobs, volunteer and first-time employment opportunities at our non-profit Talking Talons Thrift Store
THE BOND MAKES THE DIFFERENCE
It is the bond that our Talking Talons' students form with our wildlife that makes our school-based Youth Leadership Curriculum so effective. As our students learn about our special non-releasable wildlife, including hawks, falcons, bats, and reptiles, they develop empathy for all wildlife and for the environment that we all share. This, in turn, gives the students a motivation to pay attention to science and to all of their studies.
"What I like about the Talking Talons program is being around the animals and learning about them, how they live, what to do if you find an injured one, I think that's really important. Also, how they interact and live with us and how we survive together is interesting to learn."
"Doing the presentations and learning about the animals were my favorite things about the program. Being able to see them up close, because I've never been able to do that and it's much better than just hearing a teacher talk about them or reading about them in a book."
"I liked learning facts that taught me how to be responsible. Like how littering or not taking good care of animals affects us. Plus, we did some cool activities that would connect to what (the Talking Talons educator) was teaching us. That was fun."
"I learned to handle situations that are scary better, like my animal tried to escape when I was talking but I learned to stay calm and still had to give my speech. That helped me realize that I can stay calm even when I'm scared to talk in front of others."
"The presentations helped me learn how to speak in front of a big audience. I had to learn to speak louder, not fidget or look at the floor. The presentations helped to take your mind off of stage fright because I had to concentrate on holding the animal, plus get the facts straight."
HISTORY
Talking Talons was founded in the fall of 1988 by Wendy Crouch Aeschliman, then serving as school nurse of Roosevelt Middle School in Tijeras, New Mexico. . .
IMPACT
How what we do enriches the lives of the people who participate in our programs, as well as the greater community.