Quapaw Nation, Oklahoma
Partnering with community-led conservation and environmental education efforts.
Drake students, Abi Ferguson and Macy Gardner worked with the Quapaw Nation to contribute to ongoing conservation efforts and educational programming shaped by local priorities.
Days began on the food farms of the Quapaw Cattle Company, where students assisted with vermiculture, seed saving, beekeeping, and harvesting—key elements of the Nation’s food sovereignty work. In the afternoons, students supported environmental planning and outreach, including reviewing a long-term conservation plan and creating public-facing materials for a chronic wasting disease initiative.
In parallel, students worked with area teachers and students to develop conservation-focused lessons tailored to the local context. This experience emphasized collaboration, not intervention, and gave students insight into rural education systems and tribally led land stewardship practices.
Shaping future careers
“Through our work with the Quapaw Nation, I saw firsthand some of the issues that rural communities encounter and found myself with a strong desire to help in any way that I can. This experience solidified my future career goals and shaped how I plan to run my classroom lessons.”
—Macy Gardner
