To make an impact in the world you need a village. Sometimes the village consists of family and friends, while at the National Audubon Society’s Audubon on Campus program it includes faculty advisors. Individuals like Helena Robinson and Stacy Elliot show the importance of guidance and support for young adults in conservation.
Helena Robinson serves as the faculty advisor for the Xavier University of Louisiana Audubon on Campus chapter in New Orleans. She is also the university’s director of sustainability and quality control. “It’s been rewarding to see the little changes we can make to help better our climate or support environmental justice initiatives,” Robinson said. “Because I was already attached to the Office of Sustainability and had all the supplies and resources students needed for activities, students felt a kinship towards me and started asking me for advice and assistance,” she said.
Robinson has served as the campus chapter advisor for a year after assisting the previous advisor for four years. In this role, she has helped students with planning campus events, finding resources and serving as the liaison between Audubon on Campus and the students. Robinson feels that being an advisor is great because she can be around students who are interested in climate action and nature. “I feel good being able to help them do something that will eventually help them save the earth because they are the future,” she said.
Before working at Xavier University, Robinson was a K-8 special education teacher, which ignited her drive to work with young people. She desired to continue working with students and fulfill the passion of serving as a role model in conservation. “I’ve always worked with young people. And it was just a natural fit for me to evolve working with college students because they also need a lot of guidance.” Robinson shared that Audubon on Campus has impacted her students by being very supportive. “They help the students plan and promote ideas or activities to help fund some of their efforts.”
This year Xavier University of Louisiana hosted a few events in collaboration with schools like Morehouse College, Spelman College, Clark Atlanta University, and Rust College focused on topics like conservation, art and music, and clean energy. They also created a wildlife art garden that focused on supporting butterflies and birds. Robinson mentioned that young leaders are important because they are the future. “Without a young leader, where is the world heading? Without a young leader, who has society and earth in mind where are we headed? So I think it’s important to develop these young leaders because these are the ones that will be guiding the earth after us older ones are gone.”
Stacy Elliot shares the same passion for empowering the next generation of conservationists. She is a campus chapter advisor and an adjunct professor in the Honors department at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. Elliot got her start as a faculty advisor by initially being on the local board for Bird Safe Nashville. “I really care about this stuff,” she said. “It’s something I wanted to engage in from different perspectives than I thought of traditionally. I also felt the need for young people to get involved in community engagement and participate in birding.”
In her experience working with emerging student leaders in conservation, Elliot has found that students are surprised by how much they enjoy birdwatching and thinking about birds. “They’re building community. I think what I have seen a lot is I put groups together and I say, ‘Hey, we need some social media stuff. Could you guys go outside and maybe do a video about feeding the ducks in our local park?’ And they come back just enthusiastic. And like, ‘Oh, this is so much fun.’ This is how I want them to learn.”
Before taking on the role adjunct professor, Elliot taught student leadership development at Belmont. “I really love when students re-imagine what they think a leader is supposed to be,” she said. “I say a leader is anybody who pays attention and cares enough to invest in making something better.” Audubon on Campus has been very influential for Elliot’s students. “It’s opened up opportunities for them to see bigger things. There’s potential for whoever they are to get involved in activism. And part of that is because they have access to these great resources.”
Elliot began having an interest in conservation after her mom survived breast cancer in 2018. “I started birdwatching and introduced that to her because it was one of the only things that she could do,” she said. “And I realized oh my gosh, this is so healing for me. I want to share this with people, even my students. I want to expose them to this really cool thing.” Elliot sees herself growing in the conservation field by starting her own bird conservation organization that can be affiliated with Audubon. “I feel that this would be great to connect all the groups together and leave something for the younger generation to manage and take over.”
Both Elliot and Robinson are advisors who drive impact amongst their students. In addition to their students’ achievement, they are committed to making sure they follow their passion. While an advisor’s job is to help students overcome challenges and achieve their objectives, Elliot and Robinson also recognize that advisors have a responsibility to advocate on behalf of their students in the conservation field. Because of them, these advisors show how everyone plays a role in the success of their students.
Visit Audubon On Campus for more information about the program.
