It is the famous Senegalese environmental policy expert Baba Dioum who is credited with saying "In the end, we will conserve only what we love, we will love only what we know and will know only what we are taught."

Those are words that the Lancaster County Conservation District (LCCD) takes to heart, words that LCCD lives by.

"We hope that a student gains confidence in talking to others about conservation practices and what they've learned in the program," said Sallie Gregory, who's been LCCD's education and operations coordinator for 25 years. "The program often gives students new directions as they consider their paths forward from high school graduation. It's our hope that an ethic of conservation sticks with them in any direction and that they take one action step, even if that's as simple as a shorter shower to conserve water, or as involved as studying forest management to create habitat through plantings and controlled burns."

Headquartered inside the Farm and Home Center, 1383 Arcadia Road, Lancaster, LCCD conducts an annual Youth Conservation School. Over the last 47 summers, LCCD's Youth Conservation School has gotten kids outside, taught them about the importance of the environment and introduced basic conservation skills.

"The program shares the definition of conservation as the wise use of natural resources to prevent waste and damage, to maintain the supply we need to survive and that of future generations," said Gregory. "If we become careless, the future of our needs is uncertain. When we work together and see the value in caring about the amount we use, we are stewards for the future."

Nearly 20 students between the ages of 14 and 16 from school districts across Lancaster County attended the six-day, overnight Youth Conservation School in July. The youths, who were required to leave their cell phones at home, engaged in more than 18 fun, educational activities, like fishing, critical thinking, canoeing, firearm safety, data gathering and analysis, and forestry and land use.

The Youth Conservation School was instructed by employees of LCCD and officials of partnering agencies like the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.

The Youth Conservation School, which included field trips, was conducted at Northern Lancaster County Game and Fish Protective Association, 180 Forest Road, Denver.

"The program is held in a camplike setting with a schoollike atmosphere," said Gregory, a resident of Lititz. "The overnight field school includes large canvas tents with cots, with classes starting just after breakfast each morning. Lessons go into the evening with lights out at 10 p.m. The schedule is full with instruction, opportunities to see conservation careers in action and many chances to try hands-on learning."

During the half-century since it was founded, the Youth Conservation School has positively influenced the young lives of hundreds of Lancaster County teenagers.

"Each year, a new class of students meets each other on the first day, sometimes with jitters and anxieties about trying something new," said Gregory. "By the last day, new friendships and the routine of a schedule have formed a cohesive group ready to take what they've learned and share with others. This one class then becomes the megaphone to help others understand why conservation is something we all need to consider on a daily basis, to maintain the natural resources we use every day to survive."

LCCD, which was founded in 1950, employs 38 workers. LCCD's work is broken down into five departments - data and analysis, erosion and sedimentation, agriculture, watershed, and education/operations.

For additional information, go to http://www.lancasterconservation.org.