Leading Conservation: CLI Students Unveil Year-End Projects

Audubon Florida’s Conservation Leadership Initiative (CLI) is an immersive program that connects undergraduate students with Audubon chapter leaders for a unique, intergenerational learning experience. Each fall, 25 students from across Florida are selected to join the program through the academic year, where they explore real-world conservation topics like habitat restoration, community science, environmental advocacy, and nonprofit leadership. At the end of each program, participants complete a student-led project in collaboration with their chapter. Through their projects, students hone their skills while contributing toward local conservation efforts.

We feature three exciting initiatives below.

Gale Salyer: University of Central Florida Chapter | Orange Audubon Society

Orange Audubon Society works to restore native vegetation at their newly acquired Apopka Birding Park to provide better habitat for wildlife. In an effort to remove invasive cogan grass, they embarked on an ambitious mowing program. There’s just one problem: Species like skinks and gopher tortoises can hide in the grass! To avoid them while mowing, Salyer created a GIS map for Orange Audubon showing (very clearly) where gopher tortoise burrows and other sensitive wildlife areas are. With GPS, the mowing team can easily avoid these points while restoring the habitat.  

Miguel Arguello: Florida International University Chapter | Tropical Audubon Society

How can chapters work with the next generation of conservation leaders to protect birds and the places they need? That’s the question Arguello tackled as his CLI project, as he worked with both student groups and Tropical Audubon Society to connect students with conservation opportunities. He explored internship opportunities, liaised with student groups, linked his work with the FIU Arboretum Initiative, reached out to undergraduate leadership, and even formed Florida's newest Audubon on Campus chapter.

Thandi Kirk: Florida A&M University Chapter| Apalachee Audubon 

To increase Purple Martin populations across the Sunshine State, chapters are flocking together to create martin gourd arrays and other artificial nests (see page 16). Many of the houses are installed in public parks and green areas, but many people don’t know what they are, so Kirk decided to address education as her CLI project. Noting that some people erroneously thought of the arrays as giant bird feeders, she created a series of educational signs that showcase the impressive migration of this little bird and the importance of these new nesting habitats. Leon County liked her signs so much that they reached out to install them in other parks that feature Purple Martin arrays.

This article was published in the Summer 2026 Naturalist.