People

Vince Meldrum is President and CEO of Earth Force. Vince is an experienced nonprofit leader who has worked in environmental and civic education for 20 years. Vince leads Earth Force, a national organization with a unique focus on combining active civic education with environmental education to prepare young people with the civic skills, scientific knowledge, and motivation to improve our local environment.

I am an Environmental Educator stationed at Crowder County Park and Historic Yates Mill, my deep dedication to conservation drives my work. Operating at the forefront of education, I strive to inspire the public and youth alike to join us on a collective journey. Together, we aim to secure a lasting ecosystem that all animals and plants alike can share, ensuring they have a home long into the future, even after we have moved on.

Flappy Bird is an arcade game where you control a likeable bird that has to fly through many obstacles all made up of pipes.

I have always been intrigued by science, especially the outdoors. As an adult, I do lots of gardening. I think learning how to be sustainable is very important. I walk as a form of relaxation/mental health. I try to identify birds, their calls, and nests. I recently have taken an interest in foraging. I find myself asking, what would happen if ....?

I encourage others in my family to reduce, reuse and recycle around our home.

As an educator, I run our school's Environmental Club. I want to pass on my passion to others.

I provide conservation and environmental-themed learning experiences for K-12 students, families, and adults at MSU, W.K. Kellogg Biological Station and serve on the Board of the Michigan Alliance for Environmental and Outdoor Education.

Sydney spent the bulk of her childhood learning and growing under the canopy of the southeastern deciduous forests that make up her home state of Virginia. She earned her B.A. in International Studies with a minor in Environmental Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University. Following her undergraduate schooling, she began working as a youth environmental educator, leading her to eventually pursue her M.A. in the University of Utah's Environmental Humanities Program to study how nature-based programs can better support nature-connections across diverse groups. While in Utah, she also co-founded Camping in Color, an overnight program designed for black youth and their families in the Salt Lake Valley area to enhance a sense of belonging, appreciation, and engagement in the outdoors. She joins the Natural Start Alliance team excited to further her work in making quality early childhood environmental education more accessible to all.

I am an environmental economist and board president of Naturwise Columbus. Naturwise Columbus is a local nonprofit with the vision of nurturing young minds to connect and attune to the natural world around them. Our mission is twofold: providing free and accessible educational resources, while also bringing families closer to local institutions dedicated to the study and preservation of nature.