Hello Marion Canter I wanted to take a quick moment to recognize Senior Booke Slade and Junior Adelyn Burns who successfully passed their industry-level certification exams to become just the 30th and 31st students in Pennsylvania to EVER receive the “Ducks Unlimited Ecology Conservation & Management” certificate.  

This certificate is a professional-level industry certificate for future employees of natural resource management, ecosystem engineering, and wildlife conservation workforces. Employers on the state and federal level look for future biologists and resource managers with certifications through Ducks Unlimited, one of the biggest international wildlife conservation agencies on the planet. 

As of now, only 31 out of 500,000 PA high school students this year alone have the cert. Adelyn and Brooke are the 30th and 31st, and the first in Indiana County… so make sure you give them warm congratulations if you see them! The girls got their certification through Ducks Unlimited through an independent study course I helped set up,  and their hard work on their own time paid off big! It’s a good day to be proud of what our stingers are doing for the future of natural resource conservation!

Colella: ” The Ducks Unlimited Ecology Conservation and Management Certification is available on the iCEV industry certification online testing platform.[ At Marion Center, this certificate was offered this year after completion of an intense, 2-month independent study which required 12 units of virtual videos, practice quizzes, and assignments teaching about wildlife identification, habitat conservation, and human impacts on landscapes.

This certification is designed to prepare individuals for a meaningful career in natural resources management and help the next generation of high school students understand ecology issues and gain experience in the field of wildlife and habitat conservation.

The Ecology Conservation and Management Certification provides a strong foundation in basic ecology and natural resource management, said DU Chief Scientist Dr. Tom Moorman. It gives students working toward a college degree and a career in natural resources management a detailed exploration of the science that is the foundation of this profession. For students who choose a career in agriculture, forestry or other natural resources, this certification helps them be better stewards of land.” – Ducks Unlimited Website

Senior Brooke Slade and Junior Adelyn Burns, also the Co-Presidents of Marion Center Project Earth Club, both successfully completed the independent study course and passed the certification exam, becoming just the 30th and 31st students in Pennsylvania to ever achieve the certification since it first became available to High School students in 2019! In the future, high school students will be eligible to attempt the Ducks Unlimited Ecology Conservation & Management certificate after successfully completing the three environmental science electives Marion Center High School offers: Environmental Science Issues, Wildlife Ecology, and Natural Resource Management.

“I did the certification through independent study sessions. I am going to Indiana University of Pennsylvania for environmental engineering, so the certification aligned with my future plans. I have learned so much about different aspects of our environment, which allows me to apply this information to my future as well as my current Project Earth peers”.-Brooke Slade