Season 3: Episode 22: Youth Engagement and R3 Programs with Ducks Unlimited

In this episode of Connecting with Conservation, hosts Jon Gassett and Jim Curcuruto welcome Mark Horobetz, Manager of National R3 Programs for Ducks Unlimited. Mark traces the origins of DU's youth engagement strategy from the moment research revealed a critical gap between the Greenwing program (ages 11 and under) and the collegiate chapter program, with high school-age youth falling through the cracks entirely. Since joining DU in 2013 as its first dedicated youth hire, Mark has helped grow a national infrastructure that now includes roughly 130 collegiate chapters, the Varsity high school program, 61 annual scholarships totaling $45,000, a staff of seven regional youth engagement coordinators, and an organizational culture that is seeing a significant increase in female volunteer leadership.

Mark walks the hosts through two standout initiatives. The TRAC program (Team Resource Assistance Program) leverages DU's corporate buying power to help youth shooting sports teams run local fundraisers, netting an average of $7,000 per team with 100% of proceeds retained. Third Turn, DU's annual collegiate leadership summit in Memphis, brings together 350 students from more than 100 chapters for conservation education, business development, public policy training, and the peer-to-peer mentoring Mark credits as DU's most powerful R3 tool. The conversation also covers DU's "Conservation for a Continent" campaign, which surpassed its $3 billion goal by a full billion, and what that milestone means for wetlands and clean water across North America.

For more information, please check us out at:

Wildlife Management Institute — https://wildlifemanagement.institute

Outdoor Stewards of Conservation Foundation — https://outdoorstewards.org

Ducks Unlimited — https://ducks.org

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