Zachary Smith teaches Ag Mechanics at Delhi High School in California’s central valley just south of Modesto and is being recognized for his innovative project connecting students to local conservation through the Wood Duck nesting box program. Developed by Zachary as a woodworking project just over two years ago, Delhi FFA students have already built, installed, and monitored 200 nest boxes at parks, preserves, and refuges across the central valley! This experience introduces students to hands-on skills in woodworking, community science, and local ecology as well as demonstrating careers in conservation, public lands, and wildlife biology. Whether going on to futures in agriculture or inspired by new opportunities in field science or preserve maintenance, his students are discovering important overlaps between agriculture and land stewardship.

All Ag students at the high school are welcome to participate in the Saturday morning field monitoring trips, but the students who actually built the boxes have the extra satisfaction to know that their contributions will last 15-20 years, outliving their time on campus, and that one day they may even be able to take their own kids back to see the nest boxes they had built. Students are excited when photos of their nest boxes are shared by community members, and they can feel pride and ownership for the contributions they have made.

“I’m finally doing the work I’ve set out to do,” he shares. Over 100 students have already completed this program, and by getting students out in the field, geared up in waders, he’s opening them to new opportunities and helping them develop their understanding, awareness, and leadership skills.

Ultimately, the Wood Duck nesting box program, which is at the crossroads of conservation, agriculture, and recreational hunting, is introducing students to the interconnectedness of all things. Zachary is clear that this is part of a CTE and Ag program first and foremost, but that it is also essential for students to have an environmental perspective.

“We need to have well rounded students and a well-rounded industry, knowing how the things we do will affect the natural world, and shaping future perspectives in Agriculture,” he shares, and hopes that students will leave his program with a deeper understanding of caring for the land, recognizing that “it’s not ours, it’s just our turn.”