Preparing the Next Generation of Conservationists Through CCL

Richard Rinaolo guides growing companies and manages real estate investments as a managing partner for Phoenix Venture Capital, LLC, in Illinois. An avid nature-lover, Richard Rinaolo supports several nature-based organizations, including the Lake Forest Open Lands Association, an independently funded educational and conservation organization that promotes natural landscape health.

To this end, the Lake Forest Open Lands Association maintains the Center for Conservation Leadership (CCL). Designed for high school students, the program provides teens with an understanding of how humans interact with the environment and the impact this interaction has. They are also taught the importance of taking responsibility for preserving and caring for the environment, thus contributing to the development of a sense of belonging in the natural world.

The CCL accepts high school students from diverse backgrounds who are passionate about the outdoors and motivated to protect the environment. The program lasts for a year and combines environmental education and leadership training with field-based experience. This prepares them to become the next generation of conservation leaders.

The 2021 CCL group has gone on field-based experience trips to such places as northern Wisconsin. While on these trips, they have learned about a range of environmental topics, including geology, bird banding, and ecology.