By CHAD COOPER
[email protected]
Three Buchanan County students were among the graduates of the 2025-26 Youth Conservation Leadership Institute (YCLI), a statewide program that promotes environmental stewardship, conservation education and volunteer service.
Big Sandy Soil and Water Conservation District Manager and Education Specialist Jeanne Presley announced that Grundy High School student’s Abigail Coleman, Blake Childress and Emma O’Quinn were selected to participate in the program during the past school year. The students completed conservation projects designed to benefit local wildlife and pollinator populations before graduating during a ceremony held at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland a couple of weeks ago.
Coleman was the only Buchanan County participant able to attend the graduation ceremony, where graduates received certificates recognizing their completion of the program. Presley served as Coleman’s mentor throughout the year.
“I couldn’t be more proud of her,” Presley said.
As her conservation project, Coleman designed and built bee hotels that were distributed throughout Buchanan County to provide shelter for pollinators. During the graduation ceremony and Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts banquet, she presented her project and discussed the importance of pollinator conservation.
“For those who may not be familiar with it, the Youth Conservation Leadership Institute (YCLI) is a program focused on environmental stewardship, conservation education, and volunteer service. This year, I was honored to be selected as a participant in the program,” Coleman said.
“Throughout the year, I worked closely with the Big Sandy Soil and Water Conservation District, where Jeanne Presley served as my mentor and helped guide me through my pollinator conservation project. Through this experience, I learned not only about the importance of protecting pollinators, but also how conservation efforts can make a meaningful impact in our communities.”
Coleman said attending the graduation ceremony allowed her to showcase the bee hotels she created while meeting fellow students and conservation professionals from across Virginia.
“Graduating from the Youth Conservation Leadership Institute is a significant achievement for me because it represents a year of learning, service, and personal growth,” Coleman said. “The program has strengthened my commitment to environmental stewardship and has inspired me to continue making a positive impact through conservation efforts in the future.”
O’Quinn completed a pollinator garden near the apiary at the Southern Gap Elk Habitat. Her project included planting perennial pollinators and several varieties of annual flowers designed to attract bees, butterflies and other beneficial insects. Educator Rochelle Deel, who teaches at Grundy High School and was named the 2025 Virginia State Conservation Education Teacher of the Year, served as O’Quinn’s mentor.
Big Sandy Soil and Water Conservation District officials noted butterflies were already visiting the garden shortly after the project was completed. The district also thanked Leon Boyd for preparing the planting area.
Childress designed and built hummingbird feeding stations that were distributed throughout Buchanan County. His project focused on increasing food availability for hummingbirds while promoting public awareness of wildlife conservation.
“It meant a lot to me to get to be apart of something bigger and to help protect our environment,” Childress said.
“This past year has been a lot of work with both YCLI and Envirothon, however I learned a lot from both and had a great time with friends while learning to help protect the environment. It was challenging but very rewarding.”
District officials also noted that Childress recently earned his certification with the Grundy Fire Department while participating in YCLI and other environmental education programs.
Although he was not eligible to participate at the state level this year because he completed the YCLI program previously, Keyston Hartford continued his conservation work through a project completed in conjunction with Big Sandy Soil and Water Conservation District. Hartford continued his efforts involving bat conservation under the mentorship of Jon Fuller.
The Youth Conservation Leadership Institute is sponsored through Virginia’s soil and water conservation districts and encourages high school students to develop leadership skills while completing hands-on conservation projects that benefit their local communities.
Other 2025-26 YCLI graduates included Annika Gross and Ariya Lee of Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District, Auset Drakeford of Blue Ridge Soil and Water Conservation District, Alex Fogle of Thomas Jefferson Soil and Water Conservation District and Alexandria Martinez of Prince William Soil and Water Conservation District.
