Service-Learning and Natural Resource Leadership

This paper reports on a study conducted in a service-learning protected-areas management class at Colorado State University, Warner College of Natural Resources. The research questions addressed for this paper were “What are the leadership skills needed in today's culture of protected-area management?” and “Can service-learning nurture such leadership characteristics for protected area management undergraduate students?” The researchers investigated and identified the characteristics of effective leadership in the context of natural resource management through a literature review and a brief student survey and, secondly, determined how a service-learning component of a protected-area management course could prepare university students for their future leadership responsibilities. The study identifies indicators of good leadership and suggests that service and reflection serve as a way to learn essential qualities of leadership.