Award Winning Film Almost Ancestors Inspires the Lobo Youth Summit
The youth are our future, and we want to help them become confident, informed, and assertive advocates for lobos.
The objective of the Summit is to empower the younger generation to take positive action for lobos through a meaningful interactive learning experience linked to the real-world problems of protecting a nearly extinct species.
We need your help to make it happen.
How it Works
High school and college-age students are invited to create social action and community media campaigns in response to some of the issues highlighted in the Almost Ancestors film.
They will present their ideas at a student summit where they will have the opportunity for feedback and to reflect on other presentations. Successful students will receive up to $500 to turn their ideas into reality. These campaigns will be part of both a virtual and in-person exhibition.
We, and the schools, need your support to create a successful Summit.
And more importantly, lobos need your help.
With only 241 lobos in the wild in Arizona and New Mexico, lobos need protection. The number one killer of lobos is illegal poaching. We need to expand their boundaries and improve their genetics for the species to survive.
The Fundraising Goal: $40,000
Our goal of $40,000 will fund:
- Recruitment of schools and students, including presentations, distribution materials, coordination, and communication.
- Operational costs associated with launching this exciting program.
- Ongoing film distribution to expand the reach and impact of this powerful message.
By covering ALL costs for all the resources needed, the teachers and schools do not bear the burden of any expenses associated with the Summit.
More funds = greater reach = more schools = more students = more future advocates = more lobos saved.
We need your support to get started. Educators and schools have overwhelmingly responded positively to this opportunity. There is a need and desire for the Lobo Youth Summit.
All donations are tax-deductible as Wildlands Network, the fiscal sponsor of Lobos of the Southwest, is a 501(c)(3). Make your contribution today!
The Summit Creator and Project Leader
The idea of the Lobo Youth Summit was conceived by Claire Musser, Executive Director of the Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project, with over 18 years of teaching experience across the UK, the Cayman Islands, and the USA.
Claire Musser is the Executive Director of the Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design, a Postgraduate Certificate in Education, and a Master of Arts in Anthrozoology, where her research explored Mexican gray wolf recovery from the perspective of the individual wolves. With over 18 years of teaching experience across the UK, Cayman Islands, and the USA, Claire uses her creativity to blend the arts and sciences. As a transdisciplinary teacher, Claire creates meaningful interactive learning experiences linked to real-world problems. As a certified environmental educator, she has presented at educational conferences and published articles about the benefits of using STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) to create meaningful educational experiences. She encourages her students to be solutionist thinkers, empowering them to take positive actions in conservation. Claire is a lifelong learner and also a Ph.D. student. Her current research focuses on multispecies entanglements, where she combines photography and anthrozoology to explore human-wildlife conflict and coexistence.
Testimonials from Teachers and Students:
“Being an amateur wildlife photographer and loving nature, I know that by restoring the wolf population and making sure they are healthy, we will be able to restore an ecological balance that was taken away, and the opportunities to experience a fuller natural landscape is something I believe is truly impactful to my life.”
“As a university student studying global change and environmental management, I’m extremely excited by this project. As issues like climate change and all the contributing factors that affect these overwhelming threats to our planet and various lives continue to grow in severity, we must look towards future generations to help guide us to better, more innovative solutions if we want to achieve long-lasting environmental change. We can only hope to make a real difference by empowering more students to take our futures into our own hands before it’s too late. Often, I think people don’t realize how much weight their ideas hold. This project is an amazing opportunity to show youths the real-world impact they can have in becoming a force for positive change. By participating in this project, my generation can take those first steps to discover what they can do to truly change the world as individuals and as part of their community. I’m looking forward to seeing these students’ passion and drive to save our planet as they come up with new and innovative initiatives to preserve our world for generations to come!”
“I love the idea, and I think it is something that we, and most high schools, would definitely have a population of students interested in… It would be really cool to have a school put on a film festival-type event/gallery with submissions on display.”
“This is exactly the kinds of activities we envision students getting involved with.”
“As a student, my goal in the environmental field has been connecting professionals to students and vice versa within the environmental field. I think students such as myself are often lost with how they can be involved in the environmental community and how they can have an impact on issues affecting their community. This project and summit serve as a fantastic way for students such as myself to have more direct involvement in the critical environmental issues we face in Arizona. This Lobo Youth Summit is just the beginning of the positive impact student involvement can have when students are given the opportunity to help their community against the environmental crises we face today.”
For more information about Almost Ancestors, visit almostancestors.com.
